Roads
by prassacut
Summary: When Edward & Jasper met one drunken night, neither of them could have known how much that chance encounter would change their lives. AH/Slash
1. I'm amazing, I'm Batman

_**Welcome to my first multi chaps fic, I'm really excited about it. **_

_**A huge thanks to Dariachenowith and Chrissy for their friendship, cheerleading, brainstorming and pre reading, to WendyK for her mad beta skills and support, and Mrs. Agget because she's fun to WC with.**_

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: I know where Edward's prostate is. -But I don't own twilight-<strong>

_(If you didn't get it yet, this is a slash story, and I can be pretty graphic. If you're underage, well, don't tell me.)_

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><p>The bar slowly became more crowded during the evening. Despite this, I kept my place at the bar. I had been there for two hours, wondering if I should leave but not really wanting to. A whole different population crossed paths in this place, and I liked it. I drank alone, but I didn't mind.<p>

I could hear laughter, shouts, heated discussions, and pick-up lines all around me. I had seen the way the huge blond guy with the bad hairdo and half-unbuttoned black shirt tried to impress the female patrons, one after the other - with no luck I might add. I had seen the frat students come in, get shit-faced in half an hour, and then leave to go on with their drinking.

The usual drunks were there, too. Sitting in the same position as I was, back hunched and eyes on my glass. The music kept changing from one song to another, but they all seemed to be about lost or unrequited love. Rob Gordon was right when he said that people worried that some sort of culture of violence would take kids over, but nobody worried about them listening to thousands of love songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain and misery. Nick Hornby was a fucking genius. Any of those songs would make a person even more depressed than they already were.

I didn't care about their lost loves. I had no idea how it felt but I'd at least like _someone_ to be happy. The singers couldn't be tonight, it seemed. And certainly not the guy singing now. I had no idea who he was but the emo crap he sang, with only a guitar to accompany him, was borderline suicidal. Even the guitar sounded emo. It probably wanted to kill itself, too, for being used for such a shitty song. Another drink was in order so I lifted my glass, silently asking the barman for a refill.

"Can I offer you a drink?" I was so deep in thought that the voice startled me. I turned toward the woman who had asked me the question and looked at her. Sadly, I think she thought I was checking her out. Her smile became wider as she straightened, giving me an even better view of her plunging neckline. She was good looking with long blonde hair, clever hazel eyes and a nice smile. Her clothes proved she was looking for a good time but they didn't make her look slutty. She wore them well.

Women hitting on me always left me baffled. I knew that my being gay wasn't written on my forehead, but sometimes I forgot that while I had this knowledge, the people around me didn't. I turned back to my glass and shook my head as my only answer.

"Well, you can buy me one if you prefer!"

That made me smile. At least she was confident. It was refreshing, albeit useless in this case. I smiled at her. "I could buy you a drink, but that would be the only thing you'd get from me."

She frowned and gave me a puzzled look before she laughed. "Oh come on! Guys don't buy me drinks without expecting something in return!"

It was my turn to laugh. "That may be true. And it would be if you were a guy." I motioned to her V-neck. "Which isn't the case with you."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Seriously? You're batting for the other team? You're not just saying that to get rid of me, are you?"

It was my turn to be surprised. "Guys do that?"

She put her elbow on the bar before answering, pointing a finger at me. "Guys will do anything they need to get what they want." She stared at me with a smile and added "I think you're telling the truth. I can't fault you for it; God knows I'd take a cock over a pussy any day."

I raised my glass at her words and uttered an "Amen" before wishing her better luck with the next guy.

"Okay, I'll let you sulk in peace. Sorry for interrupting." With those words, she walked away.

I wasn't sulking. "I was not sulking!" I shouted the words at her retreating form. She didn't turn around but laughed and waved at me over her shoulder. The bartender finally refilled my beer. Some nights were made to drink. Tonight was one of them. Maybe I was sulking after all.

Sometimes it was good to just let go and stop dwelling on all the reasons why my life sucked, despite the fact that nothing really bad was going on. It was just one of those days where I couldn't stand my own intellectual masturbation anymore.

As I was drinking, someone bumped into me as he ordered his drink, making me spill my beer on the bar and myself. He apologized profusely and told me he'd buy me another one. It was nice of him but it wouldn't clean my shirt. I asked the barman for napkins, and tried to dry myself the best I could with the paper towels he handed me. The only thing I actually managed to do was spread pieces of paper towel all over my shirt. I spent the next ten minutes trying to clean them off.

A guy sat on the other side of the L-shaped bar, not far from where I was sitting. I studied him while I picked the paper off my shirt. The way he held himself suggested he'd had a good education. He passed his hand through his short, blond hair, stopping to feel it a little. It was a strange move, almost like it didn't feel right to him. He looked around and our gazes locked briefly, but he looked away a few seconds later when the barman brought him his beer.

He was easy on the eyes and appeared to be tall. His clothes suited him well; they were obviously work clothes and his general attituderevealedthat he wasn't used to them. It was funny to watch him try to sit down comfortably, his hand pulling on his tie every so often.

Miss Can-I-Offer-You-A-Drink came back and went right to him. I smiled, watching her do her little show once again. I didn't think she would have much luck with him either, but it was sort of fascinating to see it unfold in front of me.

I couldn't catch everything she was saying as she was mostly whispering to him, but I could overhear enough to understand that he was refusing her offer. She huffed playfully and looked at me when she realized I was watching her. Her eyes grew wide when she caught my smile. She gave a look at the man next to her and then at me again, mouthing '_him, too_' in my direction. I chuckled, nodding my head.

He frowned at us, obviously wondering what was going on and spat out his drink when she said loudly, "I can't believe it! Everyone is gay tonight!"

"What?"

His strangled voice made me laugh, but I shut up as soon as our eyes met. He definitely didn't think the situation was funny.

"You're gay!"

Her accusing voice made me start laughing again. She sounded like a kid whose favorite toy had been stolen. Then they both looked at me, and I stopped laughing once again, even if I could see she was trying to fight a smile. One thing for sure, I didn't regret staying here tonight. I was watching them as if they were my favorite tv show.

"Could you maybe say it a little louder? I don't think the people at the back heard you!"

Oh, yeah, he was pissed. And being pissed suited him well. I couldn't contain my laughter. He sent me another glare which didn't have the desired effect since it only made me laugh harder.

"Oh, don't sound so pissed off. I'm leaving, anyway. There are too many gays in this bar." She smirked, winked at me, and turned around to leave as she had said she would.

I chuckled as I watched her retreat and my gaze returned to the guy again when he started talking to me.

"A friend of yours?"

I gazed at him, taking in his blue eyes and short blond hair. He had beautiful features with strong lines. I watched him hold his beer. Nice hands too, it seemed. I shook my head at my ogling before answering him.

"No, I don't know her. She came on to me earlier, that's all."

"What about the gay comment?"

I snorted and looked pointedly to him. He chuckled at that and finished his beer in one go, motioning to the bartender to refill him. I asked him to refill mine, too, since most of it was on my shirt, anyway. The guy who spilled it never did buy me another beer.

Once we had both our beer, I lifted mine and uttered a "To nights made for drinking!" at him. He moved from his stool and sat down next to me.

"What was that?"

I turned my head to look at him and repeated "To nights made for drinking."

"True," he concurred. "I should actually drink something stronger than beer. God knows I need it."

I wasn't sure I wanted to keep listening to him. Next he'd be telling me his sad life story and I wasn't feeling all that understanding tonight. Although, people's lives were often interesting and if he really had problems, I might end up not hating mine so much.

"Oh yeah? Why is that?"

He snorted into his glass and shook his head before replying. "Everything is so eff'ed up. I wouldn't know where to start."

I mouthed 'eff'ed up', wondering why a grown man would say that, in a bar no less.

"Well then, start anywhere. I've been sitting here for 3 hours, drinking alone, and my shirt reeks of beer. It can't get any lower than that and anything would be entertaining right now."

I knew it wasn't the nicest thing to say, but I didn't really care. The guy looked nice. It was the only thing he had going for him, for now anyway. And I really didn't care about that either. Well, I couldn't say he was unpleasant to look at and, it was true, if he wasn't a handsome guy I would probably have bolted by now.

"It's not really that interesting, I'm afraid."

I chuckled. "If you don't want to talk about it we can just keep drinking."

"Best idea of the day." With that he asked the barman to serve us two vodka, and drank his before I even had time to pick mine up. The bartender refilled his glass which he drank just as quickly as the first one. He wasn't kidding when he said he needed to drink. I didn't count how many glasses of vodka we drank but it was a fucking lot. I watched the lights reflect in the bottles on the shelves behind the bar and wondered why I couldn't focus on one of them. My musing was cut short when he muttered angrily,

"My parents are dicks."

I suppose he needed to talk, after all. I stayed silent, waiting for what would inevitably follow.

"I don't want to sound like a teenager but they don't get me at all, and they're big dicks. And not the kind I like."

I choked on my vodka at his words. He slapped my back twice before asking for a refill and telling the barman to leave the bottle on the bar.

"You'd think they'd listen to me when I say something, but noooooo. They only care about what they want. Who eff'ing cares about what Jasper wants, anyway? I'm 25 years old, for duck's sake, and they barely let me choose my underwear by myself!"

"Your parents choose your underwear? That's sick, man."

I knew I was missing the point, but I couldn't think well in my drunken state. _Duck?_

"What? No! I do that. But you know what I mean, right?"

I nodded a few times until my head started to spin, then added, "Yeah I know. So your name is Jasper, right?"

"Yup."

"It makes more sense if you're him."

"What?"

We were obviously lost in drunken translation, but I didn't want to dwell on his name. His name? What was his name again?

"What's your name again?"

"Jas-per"

I nodded once more, looking at my glass which he refilled as soon as he saw it was empty. I really needed to cut down on the booze. On that thought, I drank my vodka and got him back on track.

"So no one cares about what Jas-per wants..."

"Nope, no one. Look at me. I'm wearing a darn suit!"

I did look at him since he asked. Well, it _was_ still a nice suit. Beer free, too. I gazed into his eyes and blinked a few times before staring down at the marks on the top of the bar. _Darn? _

"Jasper doesn't like to wear a suit."

He snorted. "Jasper hates it. He hates that he has to go to job interviews with the five law firms his father has decided are worth working for, just so he can use the degree he got studying law because his father decided it was the only thing worth studying. Before marrying the only girl his father decides is worth marrying and probably buying the house with the eff'ing white picket fence his father decides is the best value. He'll probably even decide what color to paint it and how to decorate it, too."

Was he talking about himself in the third person? That was really weird. Wait. He was talking about himself, right? He's Jasper, so I suppose he was. What? Wait.

"Hold on. Woman?"

"Yeah, they don't know I'm gay, but even if they did it wouldn't matter. You don't mess with "The Plan."

I think his parents are dicks. I don't know what size, but they're dicks for sure. Although he did play their game, I suppose.

"Wow. Sorry for asking but why the hell do you go along with them? You could have said 'fuck it' a long time ago."

"Oh, I did. I told them what I wanted but they dismissed me every time. They talk to me as if I'm a kid. In fact, I'm not even sure they listen to a word I say. And they're doing it out of love, I guess. I have parents who want the best for me, they just don't get that it's not the best for me."

He didn't seem to believe his own words and the face he was making was proof of it. _Strange_. "Plus I was scared. Where the hell would I have gone if I had slammed the door in their faces?"

"But you're not scared anymore?"

"I guess I still am, but I'm too miserable to let it hold me back anymore. Shit, they made me cut my hair! I loved my hair. But no, father knows best."

I turned my head slowly and looked at his hair. He would look better if it was longer, damn his parents. Then I snickered. Here I was, talking to a 25 year-old who let his parents decide on his haircut. And it seemed the haircut was the last straw for him which was weird since it seemed insignificant compared to being forced to study law for years.

He stopped talking and I contemplated his words. "Why did you study law if it wasn't your thing?"

"Because father knows best!"

I blinked at him again and put my hand over my glass when he started lifting the bottle to refill us.

"But you could have applied for something else."

"I wanted to! The deal was for me to apply to a few universities for different programs. I was accepted to most and even to a few I wanted to get into, but my father paid my tuition to the one he wanted me to go to as soon as my acceptance letter came in. He didn't even tell me about it! The dick was all cheery about it, thinking he had done me a great favor. He only does what he wants, anyway."

I asked for a coke and we stayed silent a little while until he went on.

"Everything is like that! They do things without asking me because they've planned my whole life out with no regard for what I want or need."

"What about that girl?"

"Gah! She's the daughter of one of their friends. I guess she's nice enough but I really couldn't care less about her."

I chuckled. "I bet you don't."

"Yeah, but she's sure I'm interested, because my mother told her so. Although she must be blind because I have never given her any hope. But I had to take her on fucking dates! Dates! With a girl!"

"Well, you didn't tell them you were gay. If you did, maybe they'd find you a friend's son." I laughed at my own words but again, he didn't find it funny.

"No, no. The Plan involved a straight son. As I said, it wouldn't change anything if they knew."

I still thought he'd feel better if they knew but whatever, if he liked living a lie. .. Well, I guess he didn't anymore.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know, man. But it can't go on! They'll have to listen to what I have to say. It's killing me." He emptied his glass again. "And that's not a figure of speech either. It's killing me little by little and soon I'll end up really hating them, and myself as well. I need a darn life!"

I guess he did. My life is fucked up too, but at least I'm my own person. Alright, I kind of hated who that person was but still, I was myself and fuck anyone not liking it. Even if it was me. This internal musing was really confusing, damn it!

"You know, I feel like I don't know a thing. I'm looking at life through a small window. I need to eff'ing know who the hell I am because that's what life is about, right? And for that you need err, you need... what was I saying?"

His words were slurred and I had a hard time catching everything but it did made sense in a way. Even in his advanced drunken state.

"You want to know who you are." Isn't there a song about that? Must be a bad one, that line sucked big balls. I wondered then, how it would feel to suck his. The next thing I knew I was staring at his crotch. I averted my gaze when he turned his head to look at me.

"You know who you are, right? Huh, who are you again?"

"I'm Edward." Well, it was a start, right? I didn't feel like saying much more than that about myself.

"Ed-ward."

The way he said it was weird, but anything coming out of his mouth would be. I'm not sure he was in any condition to even form a coherent sentence anymore.

"Yup. That's me."

"You smell like fried green tomatoes and dirt, Edward."

Oookaaaay. He was really hammered now. Dirt? Seriously? And what the fuck was that about fried tomatoes.

"Yeah, if you say so. I'm sure I do."

He nodded before adding, "And your hair is like the sunshine on the prairie on a warm autumn day."

Where the hell was he looking to find shit like that? "I really hope your alternative to law school wasn't poetry because you suck at it so very much."

"I do?"

"Oh, yeah. John Keats just died a second time because of you."

"John Keats is _dead_?"

And with that he put his forehead on the bar and started snoring lightly. I decided I should go before I fell asleep, too. Fuck, of course now the tab was all on me. I paid the barman and had just started to stand up when he said,

"Hey, take your friend with you!"

I faced him, eyes wide. "What? But I don't know him!"

"You seemed cozy enough before, and I don't want him sleeping here."

Great, now I had to take him to his place. I put my hand on Jasper's shoulder and tried to shake him awake, but it didn't work. I finally tried to lift him up from the stool by his arms and he jerked, opening his eyes.

"Hey, where do you live?" He didn't answer then, and just put an arm over my shoulders.

'I have no home. I am no one." Yeah, as if that was going to help solve my problem.

"Fuck, Jasper: Where the fuck do you live?" He was finally standing on his own now, but if I let go of him I knew he'd fall. He jerked his head up and gave me a bright smile before shouting,

"I want to be Bruce Wayne! That's who I want to be!"

"That's great, Jasper. Now tell me where you live."

"No, no-no, you have to call me Bruce! I'm Bruce Wayne!"

This little game of his was tiring. I just wanted to go home and sleep and instead I was stuck in a bar with Bruce fucking Wayne.

"Okay, Bruce. Where do you live?"

"Oh, that's easy." Yes! At last, it was fucking time. "You just have to call Alfred Pennyworth." He stared at me then whispered, "He's my butler. He'll help me get home."

I wanted to bang my head against the bar. Only I could end up in such a ridiculous situation. Fine, I'd take him home, then. I wasn't going to stay here all night talking to a Bruce Wayne wannabe.

"Okay, Bruce. You're coming with me."

"Cool. Will you help me fight crime, Edward? You can be Robin!"

I laughed. "I don't think so, dude. I'm gay, but not _that_ kind of gay." He pouted at my words. A pout, damn it! My little cousin used to pout, but that shit wasn't attractive on a grown man.

"You smell like sherry and tree roots."

Again: seriously? "I thought I smelled like dirt?"

He snorted. "Nu-huh you don't. Who said that? Dirt is a stupid smell and whoever said that is stupid, too."

"You're the one who said that, Jas-Bruce."

"Huh? You're sure?"

I didn't answer him because I needed to get my keys out of my pocket. And really, talking to him in this state was a waste of time. I leaned him against the wall next to the door while I fetched my keys from my pocket but he began to slide down. I caught him just in time and pulled him back up again.

"Don't move."

I finally open the door and pulled him in. He turned to me with a shocked face and slurred, "Edward, what the hell happened?"

"Nothing. Keep walking. The bedroom is this way." We entered my room and I motioned to the door on the right. "There's the bathroom if you-" but he was already snoring, sprawled on my bed.

I went to take a leak, and washed my hands while I looked at myself in the mirror. _What now?_ I shook my head and turned off the light before lying down next to him. I didn't even have the courage to undress for the night.

He turned around in his sleep and snuggled closer to me, one of his arms coming to rest on my torso. I should have tried to push him away but it felt nice to have a warm body so close to mine. I snickered at myself for being so pathetic before turning my head to take in his sleeping form.

I wondered for the umpteenth time today what the fuck I was doing.

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><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<strong>_


	2. You wish, Batman

Thank you all so much for the great response to chapter 1. You made me all giddy, I'm so happy you like them!

Quick info: the first chapters are slower paced than the rest of the story will be, as Edward and Jasper get to know each other.

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><p><em><strong>A huge thanks to Dariachenowith, Chrissy and WendyK for their help and cheerleading<strong>_

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><p>I know where jasper's prostate is (but I twilight isn't mine). I forgot to add in the last An that Rob Gordon is the main character of the novel "High fidelity" written by Nick Hornby.

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><p><em><strong>Jasper<strong>_

_Argh!_

I thought that managed to sum things up pretty accurately. My brain was trying to leak out of my head via my ears. I could feel it, and it hurt like hell. I tried to open my eyes but the light made my headache go wild. My head dropped back onto the pillow as I let out a groan at the pain I felt.

Too much. Way too much drinking. I had slept in my suit, and now it was totally crumpled. I even still had my shoes on. I guess whatever happened last night . . . _nothing_ happened.

I had flashes of it going through my mind, but I couldn't make sense of them. All I remembered clearly was spending my day going from interview to interview, trying to get a job I didn't want. The more time passed, the more I hated my father and hated myself for letting it going so far.

As far as I could remember, my father had always decided everything for me. From the sports I was involved in, to the people I associated with. It wasn't a matter of 'you should do it'; I _had _to do it. I had never understood, until recently, if it was a blatant disregard for what I wanted or if he really thought what he wanted was what I wanted, too.

In the last few months I had learned my lesson, though. My parents wanted to shine, and they had decided 25 years ago that it would be through me. I was merely a puppet in their hands. What I once considered love and attention, what I thought was a clumsy way to give me what they thought was in my best interests, was only selfishness on their part. They didn't really care who I was, or if I was happy as long as I played the part. It was a hard wake-up call to say the least, and I had needed all this time to decide I couldn't let them continue to play me like they did.

To be honest, I was scared shitless; turning your back on your family wasn't a simple thing. I didn't want to, but knowing my parents it wouldn't go well at all, if they even bothered to listen to me.

I tried to open my eyes again, and this time I managed to keep them open despite the pain. I took a look at the room I was in and the only thing in it was the bed I was lying on. No art, no framed family photos, no books, no other furniture. The room was totally empty except for the bed. I sat up, then put my head on my knees when the room started to spin; luckily I didn't feel like puking, but the headache pulsing in my head was making me miserable.

I finally stood up and opened the door to find a living room. Well, I thought it was probably a living room; it was empty, too. I could see the traces of long gone furniture, and marks where frames must have hung on the walls, but the room was totally empty. I had a flashback of entering the apartment last night and wondering what had happened. It really looked like the place had been robbed.

I couldn't believe I'd been so drunk that some guy had to take me back to his place. I remembered him asking me where I lived, but I had no idea what I'd told him. Not much, I guessed or I'd have woken up at home.

I heard noises coming from another room on my left and pushed the door open. The kitchen wasn't totally empty, but it severely lacked most appliances. Edward, Yes! Tthat was his name! _Jasper 1- Hangover 0_. Edward was seated at a small kitchen table, with a cup of coffee and a laptop in front of him. I took the time to watch him for a moment. He had all the features of a classic beauty. Expressive green eyes, straight nose, pouty lips, high cheekbones, and a perfect jaw line. Then I looked at his hair and had a flash of myself talking about sunshine and the prairies,_ Alcohol 1 -Jasper 0_. I uttered an "oh, crap" which revealed my presence to him. He looked at me with a small smile on his lips.

"Well, I'll be damned. If it's not Bruce Wayne himself standing in my kitchen."

I groaned at his words and sat down opposite him at the table. I let my head fall and hid my face behind my hands. That's why I had never told him where I lived, I remembered.

"And on top of that I talked about Bruce Wayne?" I shook my head. First the prairie comment about his hair and now, Bruce Wayne. I was assaulted by flashbacks from last night and none of them made me sound like a sane person.

"Darn it! I won't ever drink that much again."

He snorted, and took a sip of coffee. I asked him what was going on, still hiding my face behind my hands, and I heard him say, "Darn it?"

He was going to make fun of me for that? Bruce Wayne and sunsets in prairie hair weren't enough for him? Oh, dang! I told him he smelled like cherries! I groaned again and he laughed at me. I heard his chair scrape against the floor, and then smelled the aroma of coffee really close to my nose as he placed a cup in front of me. I lifted my head to look at him when he sat down.

The coffee tasted good and I inhaled its wonderful smell. Then it reminded me that I'd told him he smelled like fried green tomatoes. My shame would know no end.

I groaned again and facepalmed myself, which I realized was the last thing I should have done as a sharp pain struck me. I howled, then laughed at myself. He soon joined in.

I mumbled an "I can't believe I said that." It wasn't aimed at him but he heard it nonetheless, and asked teasingly,

"Having flashbacks?"

I nodded, whispered, "Fried green tomatoes," and then put my forehead on the table in an attempt to both hide my embarrassment and to get relief from the cool surface.

"Oh yeah, apparently I smelled of them last night." I groaned louder at his words, but he went on, "and of cherries, and tree roots, and my all-time favorite: dirt." Oh crap! Way to go, Jasper.

"I'm sorry I don't have anything to nurse your hangover, but there's a drug store not far from here if you want to get something."

I shook my head very slowly. "No, it's okay. I'll get something later. Plus I feel like suffering for everything that I said last night, anyway."

"It wasn't that bad." He laughed and closed his laptop. "So, do you need to call Alfred to go somewhere now, Bruce?"

He laughed loudly at his own jibe; I would never live that down.

"No, I think I'll give him his day off. I don't have anywhere to go, and in my state it's better that I don't drive- oh, dang it!"

"Dang it?" He was laughing at me again. "Ok, I have to ask, what's with the 6th grader vocabulary?"

"I got used to it while I lived with my parents," I shrugged.

"But you're not living with your parents anymore, right?" He asked the question as he played with his coffee cup. It was clear he didn't know what to make of me. I couldn't blame him. If someone had told me what I told him last night about my parents, I'd think I was some ball-less weirdo. It was how I thought of myself, after all.

"Thank God, no. I live with a roommate not far from the bar we were at last night. Doesn't keep my parents from barging in whenever they want, though." I grimaced at the memories, but went on. "It's one of the reasons why my roommate and I don't get along very well."

He gave a noncommittal hmmm before asking, "So, why 'dang it'?"

Oh, shit. Bex! "I promised a friend I would visit her today. I need to get rid of this hangover or she'll mock me forever."

Bex had been my neighbor until a few months back. I didn't know her exact age because she kept giving me different answers each time I asked, but she was over seventy, of that I was pretty sure. As lame as it sounded, she was my closest friend, and the only person in my life who didn't want me to change who I was to please her. She spoke her mind and could be crude or sharp at times, but she was also wise. Befriending her was the best thing I had done in the last few years. My roommate couldn't understand why I'd have her as a friend. He was more the kind to party and get laid. I think he thought my time with her was spent drinking tea and conversing about Jane Austin novels. He'd be surprised to find she could outdrink him any day as well as rob him blind in a poker game. She hid her true nature pretty well under the guise of an innocent old lady.

Sadly, I don't get to see as much of her now. She had an accident a while ago, and her nephew decided it was time to put her in a nursing home. The peckerhead didn't give a shit about her, and that way he wouldn't have to take care of her like he would if she lived alone. So while she was in the hospital, he got rid of her stuff. He sold her apartment and paid for the nursing home out of the proceeds. Saying she was pissed when she got out of the hospital was an understatement.

She revoked his power of attorney then, but couldn't change what had been done. Since she no longer had a place to live, she had to stay in the nursing home. I think she could have bought or rented another place, but she had lived in our apartment building most of her life and really thought she'd stay there until the end. What her nephew did broke her a little and I hated him for that.

Edward jolted me out of my thoughts then. "If you're still hungover, you probably need more coffee." He filled my mug and sat down again. "Are you going to go visit the girl you talked about last night?"

It took me a few seconds to understand who he was talking about. I shook my head before answering. "Angela isn't 'a friend', she's just girl who thinks it's fun to palm my dick at Sunday dinner. Why my parents think she'd be the perfect daughter-in-law is still a mystery to me."

He stared at me, wide eyed, before chuckling. "Dinners must be fun."

I groaned. "They're everything but. I have to spend them listening to people decide my life as if I wasn't even there and trying to deflect Angela's grabby hands."

"You should really stop letting them do that, you know." He was looking at me seriously and I could feel his incredulity at the situation I was in.

"I know. And I will, but it's easier said than done. And I know you must think I'm crazy for letting it happen, but as I'm sure you know, nothing in life is that simple. You have to understand that I have lived that way since I was born. "

"I don't think you're crazy, but it seems to me as if you haven't really fought against all of this. I don't mean to judge; I'm just curious." He leaned back in his chair and gave me a small smile.

"Their controlling ways didn't start one day out of the blue. When you live with people like that it's like being brainwashed! Plus, it took me a while to understand it wasn't normal." I blinked and shook my head. "It took even more time to understand it wasn't done out of love. But I understand why you'd think I didn't fight enough. And on some level it may be true, but it's hard to make people listen to you if they don't want to hear you."

Some sort of recognition crossed his face, but was quickly replaced by a questioning look. I went on.

"One small example. One day I was fed up with them about some dinner they wanted me to attend. I was so ticked off while I was trying to decide what clothes to wear. I so hated having to go to a dinner I didn't want to go to that I threw the first thing I could find at the mirror and broke it. I'd told them all along that I didn't want to go; it should have been pretty clear by the way I was shouting. When the mirror broke, my mother turned to me and said, 'If you didn't like that shirt, you should have just said so. There is no need to break the furniture. Now please change quickly or we'll be late.'"

He frowned and started laughing, then became serious again. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh, it's just... weird, I guess."

"You can say that again." We looked at each other and started laughing. I'd had enough of talking about my relationship with my parents, so I tried to change the topic.

"So tell me, Edward, what's with the monk-like decorating in this place?

He stopped laughing suddenly, and squirmed a bit in his chair before he cleared his throat. "It's ah, a long story."

I smiled. "I think I can keep up." His gaze locked on mine and he stayed silent for a few seconds before responding,

"I don't need you to keep up. No offense, Jasper, you seem like a nice guy, but all I know about you is that you say strange things when you're drunk, and you swear like a ten-year-old. I don't feel like sharing my existential dilemma with you quite yet."

I was taken aback by his words. I knew he had all the right in the world to think that way, and I understood that on some level. However, I wanted to know him, and it felt as if he was shutting me out.

"I understand." I didn't know what else to add, and we shared an awkward silence. I wondered if that was it. Maybe it was time for me to leave; I needed to go see Bex, anyway. "Uhm, okay, I should go now." I had just started to stand up when he spoke,

"I didn't ask you to leave, Jasper. I told you that there arejust some things I'm not ready to share yet."

I put my mug on the counter and turned before answering him. "I know. I have my friend to see, anyway, as I told you earlier."

"Are you sure? Because it seems to me as if you were acting a bit miffed just now."

I didn't like his teasing voice. Well, I liked it. I was just miffed that he knew I was miffed. So basically he was right, plus if I left I wouldn't get to know any more about him. Still, he didn't need to know he was right. Even if I was sure he knew. He looked at me expectantly which reminded me I was still having this conversation in my head instead of with him.

"Oh, huh, maybe. I don't know."

He snorted. " 'Maybe, I don't know?' ".

I huffed. "Well, I do have to go see my friend. And yes, I didn't really like the way you told me you didn't want to talk to me."

"Whoa, stop right there. I refused to answer one question. I don't think it's the same thing as not wanting to talk to you. You'd have been out of here a long time ago if that was the case."

_Dang._

"Didn't think of it that way, huh, Jasper?" He was making fun of me again. It made me smile.

"Yeah, okay. So, do you want to come with me?" He wriggled his eyebrows at my words and I shook my head at his juvenile joke. "And you're making fun of _me_?"

"Yes."

"Yes to you making fun of me or yes to coming with me?" Of course he laughed again.

"Yes to making fun of you." His smile contradicted his words. I got lost in it for a moment; Edward was very alluring. I had seen that last night when I'd sat at the bar; it was something that couldn't be forgotten as we drank together, but here in his kitchen, in the light of day, disheveled, with his tired eyes and his smile, he was even better. There were no pretenses. I didn't need to know why he lived in an empty place because, standing as he was in front of me, I didn't think he could show me any more clearly who he truly was. I could see he was lost, and even though his reasons were probably completely different from mine, the result was the same.

I didn't let him sidetrack me, though. I wasn't sure I would see him again if I left today, and I didn't intend to stalk him later. Too weird. The best thing would be if I could convince him to visit Bex with me. I honestly couldn't wait to see what would happen if they met. I was pretty sure it wouldn't be boring.

"I know we don't know each other well, but I like you. Plus Bex would love some more company. She spends way too much time alone, and I'm sure you'd love her."

He chuckled. "You're set on selling me on this visit, aren't you?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

He shook his head playfully, and huffed, "Okay, tell me about that friend of yours."

I spent the next few minutes telling him all about Bex, and we laughed at some of the things she had pulled off as well as her colorful personality. It was clear he was now really curious to meet her, and I knew he would come with me even before he told me he would.

I left soon after that. I was in dire need of a shower and a change of clothes so we decided to meet in one hour, in front of the bar we were at last night. We didn't live far from each other, and the bar was pretty much in the middle; plus my car was parked right next to it. I had decided to leave it there and walk home since I wasn't sure I was fit to drive, yet. I smiled stupidly all the way home in spite of the headache that was still splitting my brain in two. The sunlight and walking motion didn't help it, either, but I didn't care. I was happy to know I'd see Edward soon.

Even if I was embarrassed about some of the things I had said last night, I still thought it was funny. The fact that the guy was hot didn't hurt, heck, what am I saying, it played a lot into the reason I got drunk with him last night. I wouldn't have changed bar stools otherwise, let's be honest about that. But more than that, he struck me as an interesting person, and I liked his direct way. I had the feeling I'd always know where I was with him and it was... relaxing. I didn't know anything more excruciating than always having to decipher peoples' moods. Which I have to do all the time since so few people really spoke their minds. I was tired of being surrounded by people like that.

When I arrived home, my roommate Ben was already gone. That was a great thing, as I really didn't want to have to talk to him. I headed straight to the bathroom to take a pain reliever, and jumped in the shower where I let the hot water soothe my aching body.

One hour later, I was standing in front of the bar waiting for Edward. I didn't know if he was late or not coming at all, and I started to feel anxious. I attempted to calm myself, trying to keep my brain from coming up with all the reasons why he wouldn't show up. I hated that nasty little voice, the one you used to belittle yourself or just spoil your own fun by thinking of all the reasons why things could go wrong. It didn't come out often, and I was usually quick to squash it down when it did, but it was there nonetheless just fucking with me enough to make me wonder, even if only for a few seconds.

I jumped when I noticed someone in my peripheral vision, standing next to me. "How long have you been here?" My voice sounded incredulous. How had I not seen him coming? He took a few seconds to answer since he was laughing his ass off at my startled reaction.

"Not long, maybe two minutes."

I frowned. "You know it's creepy to just stand there. You could have said something."

His eyes grew wide, and he started laughing again. "I did! Twice! Then I decided I'd just let you work out whatever was going on in your head. What _was_ going on in your head?"

"Not much. The same old crippling feeling of being stood up." Being truthful was better than coming up with a stupid lie. If anyone could appreciate that, it was him, and really, I have discussions with myself so often that it was a lost cause trying to hide it.

"Hey, I'm here," he answered, frowning. He looked at me questioningly.

"You know how they say your worst enemy is yourself?" He nodded. "Well, I think it was invented for me, but I'm working on it."

He was looking at me with circumspection.

"What?" Well, I had to ask. If he was ready to run the other way, I wanted to be prepared.

"Nothing. I just wasn't expecting you to speak your mind," he admitted, in a serious voice. I did a mental fist pump to congratulate myself for choosing to tell the truth and knowing that because of it, I had just had a breakthrough with him. I could feel it. Then he smiled and added, "So where's your car?"

"It's just around the corner. Uhm, would you mind driving?"

"You'd let me drive your car?"

I didn't understand his tone; it was a mixture of surprise and awe. I mean, I liked my car but the only good thing about it was that it got me where I wanted to go. My parents had bought me one, but I never drove it. This one was old but mine. They didn't know I still had it, and it was my way of rebelling. They just didn't know I was rebelling. Yes, I find myself pitiful, too. I didn't answer his strange question, and eyed him questioningly as we turned the corner.

"This is it." I pointed to my old Ford Escort and I heard him gasp.

He turned to me with a crestfallen look on his face, put a hand on his heart, then declared, "I'm so disappointed that you didn't decide to drive the Batmobile today." He shook his head, then added, "I was so looking forward to driving it!"

"Oh darn, you're never going to let this go, are you?" He took the keys out of my hand, and sent me a bright smile, just before he opened the door.

"Never."He let out what sounded like an evil laugh and got in the car. I was still standing on the pavement when he started it, so I quickly opened my door and jumped in. After telling him which way to go, I went back to the topic at hand.

"It's going to get old you know."

"Never."

"You already said that."

He nodded then glanced at me with a devilish grin. "I know."

I groaned and looked at the window. There was nothing I could add and truthfully I liked his teasing; it felt like foreplay. Wishful thinking, maybe, but as long as he was here to tease me, I had my chance, right? Yes, I was totally crushing on him.

"So, is this your thing?"

What? What thing? I prayed I hadn't been thinking out loud. "What?"

"Bringing men you barely know with you to retirement homes."

His voice was playful although his question seemed serious. Alright, two could play this game.

"So, is this_ your_ thing?"

He frowned, and as I had expected him to, he asked, "What thing?"

"Going with men you barely know to retirement homes."

"You asked me to go with you!"

"You said yes!"

"You were all sad and had puppy dog eyes when you asked!"

Oh, that was a low blow.

"I didn't make puppy dog eyes at you; I don't even know how to make puppy dog eyes!

"Yeah, you did. You did that thing with your eyebrows." He gestured to his own eyebrows with his right hand, then glanced at me, "Like that! You're doing it right fucking now!"

He seemed to know an awful lot about my eyebrows, still, I knew I hadn't puppy dog eyed anyone and - wait. Oooh, that was good.

"You came because you like me!"

"I came because I was curious about Rebecca."

"Aaaand because you like me."

"You wish, Batman."

That was a sure thing.

The rest of the ride was spent talking about random things as I thought it was wiser to change the topic. Although, he made more Batman comments and I punctuated all of them with a "_but you like me_."

Once there, he followed me through the many hallways of the nursing home to Bex's door. I knocked, waiting for her to tell me it was okay to enter her room.

"Go away. I already said I didn't want to play cards with the mummies!"

Edward chuckled next to me and I laughed silently while shaking my head. After a few seconds I knocked again. "It's Jasper, Bex. And I know you're older than some of the 'mummies'."

"Come in boy, and stop talking out of your ass. No one is older than those decrepit assholes. I think I even saw one of them starting to decompose and if-" She stopped there when Edward entered the room after me.

"Well, well, what have we here?"

Bex observed him with appreciation and turned a pointed stare at me. Her face was always expressive; she often reminded me of those silent movie actresses. Her long white hair was held in the back with pins and a few escaped tendrils framed her face, giving her a relaxed yet still classy look. Her pale blue eyes gave away her mischievous nature, but I could see sadness in them, too. She must have been gorgeous when she was younger but she was still beautiful. Time had been kind to her. She had once explained to me that it was only due to a healthy sex life and a lot of whisky, but she had been really drunk that night.

"This is Edward. I thought you'd like more company." I smiled at her and anxiously awaited her reaction.

"You can bring me company like him any day, boy. Come on, sit down!"

She lay in her bed as she mostly did these days. I was sure she hadn't gone outside since my last visit. She used to, but had stopped - except for when I came to see her- saying she was bored out of her mind pacing up and down the garden.

Edward sat down in the armchair close to the bed and I took my usual place, sitting next to her on the bed.

"So what have you been up to lately, boy?"

"The same old things, Bex."

"So, I guess that means doing everything your daddy tells you to and then banging your head against the wall at night because you still haven't told him to stop breathing down your neck, right?" I nodded. She gave me a small understanding smile, then frowned. "You look a little pale, boy. What haven't you told me?"

Dang her! "I, uh, got drunk last night." I heard Edward chuckle but didn't look at him. I didn't want to give him the chance to start in again about Bruce Wayne in front of Bex.

She eyed me with an appreciative smile and asked, "Anything good come out of that?"

I didn't answer her question, but couldn't keep from glancing at Edward; of course she picked up in it, and turned to him.

"So, are you a fudge packer, too, Edward?"

"Bex! What the fudg-Duck!"

Bex turned to me and shrugged. "South Park."

Edward was trying to hold in an incredulous chuckle but failed. He looked at me with wide eyes, and I couldn't tell if it was because of what Bex had said, her South Park comment, or my choice of cussword. Probably all of the above. I wasn't really embarrassed. I had known the risks when I asked him if he wanted to come, and I had warned him, too. But she could have eased him into it. He was very calm when he asked,

"Uh, excuse me?"

If he thought he'd misheard what she said, he was sorely mistaken. I was shaking with laughter as soon as she uttered the first words of her reply.

"Are you a fudge packer, Edward? You know, a queer, a buttpirate, do you like to take it up the ass like my boy here? It's a rather simple question."

Buttpirate? She was lucky I knew her well enough to know she wasn't insulting us, but coming from anyone else it would have been outrageous. Although, hearing all the words coming out of this frail old lady lying in her bed was as funny as it was weird. I was still shaking with laughter, and I could see that Edward was, too.

"I wouldn't call myself all those, ah, names, but if the question is about me being gay, then the answer is yes."

"That's very good, then you should fuck Jasper." I stopped laughing on the spot, frozen, eyes wide. And anyway, how did she know he hadn't last night? My shock at her words didn't seem to faze her as she kept going. "Look at him. He's so miserable, what with his parents and career, he can't even swear properly! Have you heard him say 'duck'?"

Bex was pointing a finger animatedly at me while looking at Edward. I was still so shocked that I couldn't utter a word. Edward answered with a nod and a laugh, and unfortunately for me, she went on.

"So I think a good fuck would do him good." She turned to me then. "I don't know whose dicks you had in the past but let me tell you, they mustn't have done a great job."

I thought my jaw was going to hit the bed cover, but I was pulled out of my shocked state by Edward's laugh. I glared at him, but before I could protest, Bex started talking to him again.

"I'm sure you could do a better job. Well, if he lets you, that is."

I wasn't surprised. We often talked about my sex life, but why _today._ One thing I could give her is that she was a good judge of character. She wouldn't have said that if she didn't think Edward could handle it. Still it was kind of crude, and embarrassing on some level. Mostly because now my brain was in porn mode, full of naked Edward and fucking. His voice brought me out of my thoughts. I really hoped he wouldn't mention Batman or-

"Well, he did say I smelled of fried green tomatoes and dirt. I think I have a chance."

_Kill me now. _

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><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<strong>_


	3. you're a poet, Batman

_**A huge thank you to Dariachenowith and chrissy for their pre reading and cheerleading, and also to WendyK for her beta skills. (yes, I have a kick ass team!)**_

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><p><strong>Your response to chapter 2 blew my mind once again, thank you so SO much! Woot all of you!<br>**

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><p><em>Disclamer: Prostate, yes; Twilight, no.<em>

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><p><em><strong>Edward<strong>_.

"_You said what?"_

Rebecca looked at Jasper in such shocked way that I didn't even try to stifle my laugh at her expression. He glared playfully at me, obviously amused by my reaction, and answered with a mock-offended look on his face.

"Well, I can't say it was great poetry but one has to start somewhere! And just so you know, I could have said worse."

Rebecca held her chuckle, and shook her head at him. "No wonder you're not getting laid, boy, with lines like that."

"Hey, I object." He lifted a finger while talking and the gesture made us both laugh even more. "I do get laid!"

"If you don't tell people they smell like dirt," mumbled Rebecca. She shook her head again. "I can't believe you had just met him and you said all that."

"You know, Rebecca-"

"Bex, Edward, call me Bex."

"Okay. You know Bex, he has some pretty hot poetry going on for him." Jasper turned his head swiftly towards me and his eyes grew wide. "He told me my hair was _like the sunshine on the prairie on a warm autumn day_."

She snorted "Oh, I'm sure you wanted to jump his bones right there on the spot with a declaration like that." She looked at Jasper. "Haven't I taught you anything, boy?"

"I was drunk, darn it! It doesn't count! The last time we got drunk together you told me you needed your magic coasters to go pee, or it would take you days to get there!" He laughed, and pulled slightly on her hair.

It was obvious that Jasper and Rebecca were really close, and it was easy to understand why he loved her so much. She was a hoot as well as a contradiction with her perfect, 'cookie-baking grandma' looks. She actually swore like a trucker, had the sense of humor of a horny 17 year-old, and had lived so many different lives that even the guy working at the travel channel would be jealous of her.

She was sharp, clever and didn't let anything get by her, which made for some hilarious comebacks.

I couldn't help but laugh when she started to tease Jasper. He had told me about her ways but I was still baffled; I hadn't expected her to be so direct, or to speak her mind in such a blunt manner. I could see she was being half-serious but her goal wasn't to hurt him.

Jasper handled it very well, though, and that taught me a lot about him. Most people would have been really embarrassed, going through different stages of blushing and stuttering in embarrassment, but he held his own. Of course, it became harder when I joined in the teasing, but even then he didn't react much.

I had to admit I was impressed. First, when he had told me what he was really thinking when we were in front of the bar, and now, with his reaction to Bex's words.

For the first time since we had met, I saw him in another light. I started to believe he really would tell his parents to fuck off. I had thought of him as lacking a backbone, based on the relationship he had with them, but I was starting to realize that it was probably his backbone that had allowed him to survive their behavior so far. It would have destroyed a weaker man, but he had managed to keep his personality intact, and apparently his self-confidence too. Few people could have come through the life he had led unscathed and endured Bex's and my teasing if they didn't have at least some confidence**.**

Anyway, it was a pleasure teasing him knowing he could handle it. I liked people who had a sense of humor about themselves; so many people were so self-conscious that they would take anything said about them the wrong way. It was tiring. Who wanted to have to screen their words each time they had to talk? Not me, that was sure as fuck. If people couldn't stand it, then good riddance.

I listened to them banter for a few minutes, and was glad I had agreed to come. It was a weird idea, visiting someone you didn't know, accompanied by someone else you didn't know much better. But the way he had talked about her had intrigued me, and it was not as if I had anything better to do today. But he was right in a way when he said that I had agreed to come because I liked him.

When Rebecca told me I should fuck Jasper, my first reaction was to laugh. First, because of the hilarious way she said it, and then because fuck, it hadn't really crossed my mind until then. Okay, fucking him had crossed my mind last night. I was human after all, but it was a flitting thought. In my opinion, I wouldn't only be 'fucking with him' but also with all his problems and insecurities. Even if he was a handsome guy, that didn't appeal to me in the least. I was intrigued by him, for sure; I wouldn't have let him stay this morning otherwise,and I certainly wouldn't be here now if that wasn't the case, but it had nothing to do with whether I fucked him or not.

Although, now that I saw him in this new light, now that I didn't think he was such a pathetic guy anymore, his appeal had increased exponentially. I found myself wondering how his skin would feel under my hands, what his dick looked like, and more disturbingly, whether he had a hairy ass. I blamed GayTube for that one because there are some fucking ugly hairy asses on it, but at least all of my favorite porn actors shaved. I had fucked with a really hairy guy once. It had taught me something about myself: I loved a guy with a little hair, but not _too much_ hair. I still shuddered at the memory.

"Edward!"

I jerked my head up, and looked into two pairs of puzzled eyes. "What?"

Jasper laughed. "Bex was asking you a question."

"I don't need a narrator, boy." She turned back to me then. "What do you do?"

That was a good question, and I had wondered the same thing myself for the past ten years. "I'm the manager of a coffee shop, downtown."

"Really?" She seemed to contemplate my answer for a few seconds, then added, "Do you like it?"

"No. Yes... No," I finished with a sigh.

Jasper snorted. "Well, that was convincing!"

"Not everybody can do what they want, Bruce Wayne." He bent his head but didn't hide the smile that overtook his face.

"So, do you know what you want to do instead?" Bex was still set on making me talk about my job it seemed.

"No. That's my main problem. But I think at age 28 that ship has sailed, so manager it is. It's not so bad, anyway."

Bex studied me with a serious look on her face. "Settling is always bad."

Jasper must have sensed that this conversation would upset the both of us because he changed topics.

"Edward accused me of puppy dog eye'ing him!"

She kept her gaze locked on me, letting me know that our conversation wasn't over. I was fucking thankful for Jasper's quick reaction, but even though I didn't want to talk about it, I was curious to know what she would have added. Something was telling me I wasn't ready to hear it, though. She sent me a small smile before answering Jasper.

"That's not a word, boy. But I'm sure you did."

I looked at him with a victorious smile, but it didn't last as Rebecca kept talking.

"But don't worry; I'm sure Edward does it, too."

"What?"

Jasper laughed at her words. "Oh, I would really love to see that."

Rebecca gave him a stern look which made him quit his taunting before addressing me again. "You can say you don't, Edward. I don't believe you."

She was killing me.

"You can look at me all you want. It doesn't change a thing. Men do make puppy dog eyes. You all know so well how to do it, and that no one will be able to say no! It's like women crying."

"I don't do that. It's a Jasper thing."

"Whatever, boys. Now**, **you have to come back tomorrow. _Both_ of you." She gave me a pointed look. "I'll finally be able to play poker again, so you'd better be there!"

"Who'll be there?"

"You will be there, boy. Edward, too. As well as the only sufferable nurse working here. She only works two days a week, and she's the only reason I haven't gone completely wacko yet. After her shift is over she usually comes by to play a bit. She brings some top notch whisky, too."

She said the last part in a whisper that made us laugh. I knew I'd be there the next day because nothing could keep me from playing poker with her. "What time do you want us to show up?"

Jasper sent me a surprised look, then smiled. He threw himself into more tales about Bex and poker, and she would comment once in a while on what he was saying. The afternoon flew by and too soon it was time for us to go.

I wasn't in a hurry to leave seeing as I was supposed to go see my parents tonight. It wasn't something I was looking forward to.

After our goodbyes to Rebecca and our promises to be there the next day, we were back in the Not-Quite-Batmobile. Jasper was feeling much better and decided to drive us back.

"So, what did you think of her?"

"You were right saying she's a character. I'm glad I came. She's great."

"She sure is. What are your plans for later?"

"I'm having dinner with my parents. My brother is here for a few days, and they want me there."

Nobody could miss the gloom in my voice, and he picked up on it.

"Ah, I see."

"What do you see?"

"That having dinner with your parents is not the first item on your 'what I'd love to do' list."

I laughed and nodded. "Yeah, you could say that." We watched the road in silence for a while, then he spoke again.

"I'm having dinner with my parents, too." He glanced at me and grimaced, then his eyes returned to the road. "It's not going to be pretty."

"You're going to tell them to fuck off tonight?" I was surprised again. I knew he was set on doing it, but I didn't think he'd have the balls to do it so fast. I was _really_ starting to realize that I had a totally skewed idea of who Jasper was.

"Yes. Nothing like the present. Duck it!" and with that he hit the steering wheel a few times. I didn't know what I wanted to laugh at more, his choice of curse words or his gesture. Although it didn't make me forget it was a serious matter.

"I'll give you my phone number; if you need to talk about this later, call me."

"Yeah? Thanks, Edward."

I didn't reply and stared at the window again. Once we were in front of my apartment building we exchanged phone numbers, and he left. As I walked to my car, I found myself hoping it would go over well.

I spent the car ride to my parents' house thinking about Jasper and Rebecca, but mostly about Jasper and how my view of him had changed so drastically in the few hours I had known him. Plus the fact that yesterday I didn'tknow him and not only had he spent the night at my place, but I ended up spending my day with him, half of it in a nursing home, no less. Strange didn't even begin to cover it.

I wondered if he would call me like I told him to, but in a way I was convinced he would. His general behavior towards me told me he wanted to see me again, although I wasn't sure I could give him what he wanted.

I rolled my eyes at my last thoughts; I didn't even know what he wanted from me. Friendship, that was pretty clear, based on his body's reactions and the glazed look on his face when Rebecca recommended that I fuck him. He was all for it, too. But since he hadinsisted on me meeting someone so close to him, I didn't think he wanted it to be just a fuck.

I was right. I wasn't sure I could give him what he wanted.

It had nothing to do with being able to be in a relationship, and even less to do with some fucked up, 'nobody can love me' feeling. I was as screwed up as anyone else, but nothing too dramatic, plus I was a fucking lovable guy. If you weren't against bluntness and mood swings, that was.

But no, it wasn't about that. It was about the fact that I liked Jasper, but that was the end of it. For now. Still, I was curious to know how he saw things.

I hadn't realized I was already at my parents' house. I didn't remember parking my car next to my brother's, and was jolted out of my thoughts when he tapped on the window. Fuck.

"Are you going to come in at some point?"

His voice was muffled as I hadn't opened either the door or the window. I nodded at him, and took a deep breath. Dinner with my parents always felt weird; throw my brother into the mix and the weirdness hit the roof. It was not that I didn't love my brother; it was more that I didn't _like_ him.

He was six years younger than I was, but acted as if he was forty. He also seemed to feel the need to address me ina judgemental tone. I was a lost cause to him. He would shake his head at me, and I swear I could hear 'Edward, Edward, Edward '*sighs*' each time he did. And that wasn't me being paranoid.

Not only couldn't he understand how I lived my life, but he didn't hesitate to tell me what a failure he thought I was. Me, the guy who, fresh out of high school, decided to take a job in a coffee shop for a year - I still didn't know what I wanted to study in college- and woke up ten years later as manager of said coffee shop.

I couldn't really tell how I had ended up in this position, I just went to work every day, but each promotion made me more miserable because it was just one more nail in theproverbial coffin. Talk about wasted time. And in his opinion, instead of doing something about it, I just spent my time wallowing in my own misery. Okay, that last part was probably true, but he could stick his judgments far up his ass as far as I was concerned. I didn't need it.

My father didn't know what to make of me, but he didn't judge me for it. He was at a lossas to how to communicate with me; he liked order, logic. He understood people going straight from point A to point B, like my brother, so I was a mystery to him, but I never felt like he thought of me as a disappointment. It didn't keep things from being awkward between us; as I said, communication was lost on him. It had always been that way, even before I had strayed from a path he could understand.

My mother was another topic entirely; she wanted me to be happy and didn't care what Idid, as long as I was. But she was always lost in her own mind. She would ask me a question and half the time wouldn't wait for the answer, or she'd answer her own questions. That again made our relationship weird. I don't think she even realized it. If you asked her, she'd say we had a trusting and close relationship, when the truth was that she barely knew me.

They weren't bad parents, far from it. They were just, well, them.

I got out of my car, walked to the door and opened it, just as my father was walking through the front entryway.

"Hello, son"

That was the extent of my father's greeting. We hadn't seen each other in two weeks, yet he just passed me by, said 'Hello, son' and kept on walking towards the kitchen.

I followed him, and kissed my mother. Her greeting was warmer than his, meaning I got a hug before she asked if I was okay. I wondered if that was worth replying to, but didn't have to for long as she started rambling on about the flowers she had planted and how the neighbor's dog had died in some suspicious manner. I nodded, hummed and added a _really__?_ to look interested**. **She stopped for a second and eyed me.

"Are you sleeping enough? You don't look like you're sleeping enough."

"I'm sleep-"

"Oh! I thought of you the other day; we watched that TV show. You know the one with the guy with the strange hairdo."

Obviously she didn't need to know if I slept enough or not, and I had no idea what she was talking about since a)_ '_that show on TV with the guy with a bad hairdo'could have described about 95% of the shows on TV, and b) I hadn't watched TV in three years.

"Well, there was this song they used, and I couldn't remember the name of the guy who sang it, but I knew you'd know since you're so knowledgeable about music. You know that Canadian singer?"

"Err, mom, there are a lot of Canadian singers. Was it a male or a female singer? And I'd need more info than that anyway.'"

I don't know how she thought I'd know the answer just from her saying 'He's a Canadian singer'.

Conversations with my mother always ended up sounding surreal. I had long ago given up on having a serious conversation with her about my problems since she'd always change topics for matters like this one. She wasn't doing it 'on purpose', although the result was the same. I'd rather be amused by her ways than pissed at her as it wouldn't help matters much, although I couldn't stand it for very long. I decided to play along, and smiled at her encouragingly.

"He's a male singer. You know…" she snapped her fingers several times as if it would help give me more details. "That singer who did those covers."

Yeah, that wasn't helping. I opted for giving her random names.

"Rufus Wainwright, Hawksley Workman, Leonard Cohen-

"No, no, no the Canadian singer!"

"They're all Canadian and singers, Mom."

"KEVIN! Kevin Babble!" she shouted, a look of victory on her face.

Kevin Babble? I couldn't say I knew of him. Then it hit me. "You mean Michael Bublé?

"Yes! That's what I said!"

It was going to be a long dinner so I wasn't going to argue with her, but picturing her at Wallmart asking for Kevin Babble's latest album made me laugh.

Michael Bublé; I didn't even like the guy, nor his evil twin, Kevin Babble. My brother barged in the kitchen then, his phone to his ear, wanting to know when dinner would be served since he was expecting 'an important phone call later'.

"Oh, as soon as Edward is done setting the table, sweetie."

He made a gesture with his hand to tell me I needed to hurry up setting the table I didn't know I had to set. He went back into the living room, I suppose to sit down with our father who had fled the kitchen when my mother began her crazy talk.

I didn't mind helping out, but there must have been a law I wasn't aware of that stated that

Garret wasn't allowed to set the table, because no one ever asked him to do it. He never offered either; I think the politeness gene in this family ended with me. It had caused some heated arguments between us, and I'd learned long ago to save my energy to fight about more important things than my dickhead of a brother.

Once we were seated for dinner, he started talking our ears off about macroeconomics. In _great_ detail. I wasn't interested in the least, first because his view wasn't interesting to start with, and then because he was doing so while ignoring microeconomics, which played a major part in it. Did I want to tell him that? No. Discussing anything with my brother was a waste of time. My mind drifted to Jasper again, wondering what was happening with him, and checking my phone discreetly to see if I'd missed a call.

"What do _you_ think about that, Edward?"

It was always the same thing. He would ask for my point of view, but wouldn't listen to my answer. He was just waiting for me to finish so he could add whatever it was he wanted to add. I had tried, believe me, I had tried. I hadn't heard what he'd said last since my mind was elsewhere occupied, and I didn't give a fuck about it.

"I don't give a fuck, Garret."

And there it was, the shaking of the head, the silent 'Edward, Edward, Edward' sighs.

"Language, Edward."

"Sorry." My mother would love Jasper and his 'duck'. I snorted at the memory and my brother took it as if it was meant for him.

"How can you not care about it? Everybody should care about it! _You_ should care about it! What do you think, Dad?"

Dinner with them was like being stuck in the same time loop over and over again. So few things changed from one dinner to another that I had this creepy feeling each time I was seated in that dining room. It was as oppressing as it was ridiculous. As always, Garret had asked my father for his opinion and as always my dad's gaze was locked on one of the walls, fixed on an invisible point.

"Huh? What?"

"What do you think, Dad?"

"Oh, yes. Yes. Your assessment is completely right, son."

My father didn't really seem to care about what Garret had said, any more than I did, but he would invariably give the same answer, word for word, whatever the topic. And each time he did, Garret nodded once, gazed at me with a superior look on his face and did that double raised eyebrow thing that made me want to punch him. I thought it better to leave the topic entirely alone, rather than play his game.

"So that dog died weirdly?"

My mother jumped right in, and to my childish satisfaction my brother's face fell.

"Oh, yes. He was alive and then bam, he was dead!"

"Isn't that what usually happens?"

"Trust me, it's not _normal. _Dogs don't just die."

I guess in my mother's world dogs were immortal creatures. "They don't die?"

"Well, they do, of course, silly. But not like that."

I helped her clean off the table and serve dessert - that we ate in complete silence -because that wasn't creepy at all- and I skipped coffee, not so politely, under the pretense of being tired. After a hug from my mother, a 'Goodbye, son' from my father, and a clap on the shoulder from my brother, I was finally on my way home.

I made myself a cup of coffee that I drank seated on my living-room floor. My 'monk style' living-room, to quote Jasper.

The truth was that I was a pussy. I knew it and I think Rebecca probably knew it, too, in her own way. I knew what I wanted to do; I had known for years. I wanted to jump in my car and just drive, with all the clichés that it implied. I had started to work in that fucking coffee shop to take the time to decide what I wanted to do with my life and it had led me nowhere. If I was just drifting in life then I had better do it properly and learn some things along the way, right?

I had been so close to doing it three years ago. I had sold all my belongings and put the rest in storage, packed a small bag, and jumped in my new car – that I had bought for that purpose - put the key in the ignition and then froze. Yup, I fucking froze. I stayed in that car all fucking night long. When it was my time to go to work, I drove there and took my shift as if nothing had happened. Only that's not true because I felt it, first the disappointment, then the utterly crushing feeling that I was stuck here, and finally the self-hatred for being such a fucking coward.

I had never bought back my things, had never emptied the storage room, and my bag was still in my bedroom closet, half full. It stayed that way because I wanted to believe I would, and could, leave whenever I wanted to. But I never had. All this emo shit was getting old; I really needed to get out of my funk. And I knew exactly what I needed to do in order to achieve that.

I checked that my wallet and phone were still in my pockets, picked up my keys, and left my apartment. The warm summer night felt nice on my face as I slowly walked the three blocks to the club. I had spent so much time there that I knew it like the back of my hand. As gay clubs go it was a great one. There were a few other good clubs in the area but tonight I needed that one.

Once inside I went straight for the bar and ordered a vodka before scanning the place, hoping to find the person I was looking for. As I turned around to ask one of the barmen if he had seen him, I felt a hand grab my cock.

"Happy to find you here, Edward. I haven't seen you in a while. I wouldn't mind a repeat performance of last time."

I removed his hand from my crotch and turned back around to look at its owner. He was smiling brightly and winked at me at the same time his hand snaked around my waist.

"Allen. First, I was here last Tuesday but you were too busy palming someone else's crotch to see me. And we fucked once three years ago. I think if a repeat performance was welcome we would have done it before now, don't you think?"

He laughed at my words. "Well, I had to try. You might have said yes."

"And yet you know I don't come here to find a fuck."

He huffed and rolled his eyes. "Sadly, yes."

"You don't appreciate the finer things in life, Allen. That's a shame." My tone was playful, and it made him smile. He finally took his hand off of me and replied,

"I still say a good fuck is better than your way."

I chuckled at that. "Well, a good fuck is better than anything, but good fucks don't happen all that often, so I'll stay picky and indulge 'my way' as you call it. But just so you know, one should never exclude the other."

"Yeah, yeah, well I'll look for someone who'll appreciate my fine ass; you go do... whatever it is you do."

I didn't have time to answer him as he was gone in a second. Next time I came here we would likely have almost the same conversation. Some things never changed. As I watched him walk away, I spotted Julian leaning against one of the podiums. Good, I wouldn't have to hunt him down for a change; I picked up my glass and joined him.

"Edward! Something tells me you're not here just to enjoy my riveting conversation."

"As much as I want to hear your psychoanalysis of the latest Gaga song, no, I'm not here for conversation. So tell me, do you know someone who would be willing tonight?"

He smirked, looking at the dance floor full of people. "Don't diss The Gaga. And I only know willing people. You should know that by now."

"I don't doubt it. So, who?"

"You see the guy in the red shirt? Tall, lots of muscles, he's shaking his arms?"

I nodded as my only answer. Seriously, I wasn't that difficult to please when it came to this but that guy just didn't do it for me. At all.

"Well, not him." He sent me a knowing smile. The fucker knew exactly what I was thinking. "The one next to him, on his right. Nice smile, grey shirt, black hair, all over sexy cuteness?"

Well, that was more like it. Although I wouldn't have minded a blond one. Okay, that wasn't good. I shouldn't be thinking of Jasper right now. "You're sure he's up to it? I want to be sure, you know that."

"Yes, Edward, I know that. And I can assure you he's up to it." His gazed stayed on the guy, and he smiled before adding, "Stefan is up for most things anyway, to my greatest pleasure." He glanced at me then. "Your little pervy ass isn't going to faze him. He'll get off on it."

"Good. I'll be upstairs."

I glanced at 'Stefan' one last time, and climbed the stairs up to one of the more private balconies. The different balconies had been set up to look like the lounge. I always went to this one because there were usually fewer people. The others had a great view of the dance floor but only a few people were allowed to go up to this one, which gave people like me relative privacy.

Once up there I took a seat near the guardrail and sipped on my vodka. I was playing with the different packets of condoms and lube scattered on the table in front of me when a guy sat on the armrest of my chair. His hand trailed from my arm to my chest then I felt his breath on my neck as he leaned closer.

"I'd be happy to help you with that."

He looked young, probably barely old enough to get in here. His hair was dyed a strange shade of blue which made his skin appear very pale. He smiled at me suggestively before trying to kiss me, but I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"That's very nice of you, but I'm waiting for someone."

"You're sure? I bet I'm a better fuck than him."

I snorted at his words. "Who knows? But if you're looking for a fuck, there's someone who seems interested just to your right." I motioned to the man seated alone not too far from where we were. He was showing more than a little interest in the young, blue-haired guy sitting next to me, if the way he was staring at him while touching his cock was any indication.

"Ooh, nice! At least someone here is clever enough to see all I have to offer."

"Well, don't mind me, please."

He patted me on the shoulder before he stood up and said, "You're so going to regret it."

I scoffed at his antics but kept my eyes on him as he sat next to the other man, who nodded at me. I was soon forgotten, since blue-haired guy had his mouth wrapped around the guy's cock a second later. I watched them for a little while. I had been hard for some time now and their little impromptu show made me wish Julian and his guy were already here.

Just then Stefan walked up in front of me and stopped to lean on the rail, his gaze locked on the people downstairs. I sat back in my chair to get more comfortable, my hands flat on my thighs. Soon Julian joined him, pressing himself against Stefan's back, his hands caressing his torso under his shirt.

I opened my own shirt enough to allow me to trail my hands over my skin, my eyes never leaving them. No need to rush things. Masturbation was meant to be a slow build-up of pleasure, after all.

Wanking had always been my answer to everything. Boredom, stress, pain. I couldn't fathom why some people saw it as something to do only when sexually frustrated. Masturbation was an art, not a quick jack off in a shower.

Exactly like watching your partner wank. No one would think it was shameful, no, they'd ask for more. Wanking should be done as thoroughly as fucking someone, and like fucking, it wasn't just a means to an end. And it helped people know their own bodies. If I hadn't perfected my wanking, all I'd know was that my cock was sensitive, big fucking news. I think any guy learns that by age 10.

I played with my body, alternating between full on fondling with my whole hand and light touches with my fingers, making my skin tingle everywhere. My nipples were hard and erect as I played with them. My eyes were still set on the show in front of me. Julian had his left hand around Stefan's cock and was stroking him slowly, while his other hand kept his head back. He was whispering things into Stefan's ear that obviously excited him.

My hands left my torso to stroke the inside of thighs through my pants. I stroked my fingers along the different places there that I knew would turn me on even more. I hadn't touched my cock yet; that could wait a little longer. I left my right hand there still rubbing my thigh while I snaked my left hand under my shirt to trail my fingers over all of the different sensitive spots.

The entire body was a wonderful erogenous zone; it was sad people didn't get more curious about all of the sensations it could produce when touched in the right places.

Stefan's pants were now around his knees. He was leaning as much as he could on the railing, offering his ass to Julian, who was fingering him. I couldn't hear them but Julian's face didn't leave any doubt about the pleasure he was getting out of it. Right then he turned his face to me, his mouth half open and his eyes hooded. The fact that he was aware I was watching him made my cock twitch, and I began palming it before opening my pants and letting it spring free.

I picked up one of the packets of lube, putting some of its contents directly on my cock and the rest in my right palm. Julian grasped Stefan's hair in one swift movement, making him face the ceiling, and thrust into him in one hard motion. I moaned at the visual and at my hand which was now stroking my cock as fast as Julian was thrusting into Stefan's ass.

I didn't care about the few men around me who were no doubt watching my actions. I didn't get off on it, but I didn't mind, either. I got off on watching people fuck after all. It wouldn't be right for me to reproach them for doing the same thing.

Stefan was stroking himself while he was being fucked, his head still facing up. It was obvious he was being loud, but the music kept anyone from hearing much. His body language was enough to make up for it.

I stopped stroking myself with my full hand and switched to using only my fingertips, making small rubbing movements just under the head. I moaned at the sensation, my cock twitching in rhythm with my ministrations.

Julian pushed on Stefan's back to make his ass stick out even more, his hands gripping him when he was in the position he wanted. He slammed into Stefan even harder, kneading his ass cheeks, trying to open them more and ram a little further into him.

I wrapped my hand around the head of my cock, making short strokes around it. I rubbed my perineum with the middle finger of my other hand while my thumb and forefinger tugged on my balls.

Stefan came on his chest then, gripping the railing until his knuckles turned white. Julian followed soon after, slapping Stefan's ass hard enough to leave a handprint. I kept the same stroking pace, and groaned when I felt my whole body tingle. I felt hot and then cold for a moment and put my feet flat on the floor as my hips pushed upward. I came in a loud moan as Julian licked Stefan's cum off his abs.

I was still panting hard when they redressed themselves and joined me at the table. I had just finished buttoning up my pants when Julian spoke.

"You're such a perv, getting off on that."

His voice was teasing, and I know he didn't believe a word of it. "And you're such a perv to get off on being watched."

He smiled brightly at me and kissed Stefan. "Edward, this is Stefan. Stefan, my friend the perv here is Edward. He likes to bad mouth The Gaga and to watch people fuck while he wanks."

Stefan laughed at his words. "Yes, I think I caught on to that, Julian."

"Hey, I only get off on watching people who know I'm watching them." I didn't need to defend myself, but I still thought it made a difference. "Where's the fun otherwise?"

Julian threw a condom at me. "Perv."

"Says the guy who just fucked another guy in front of me."

"Well, I think we're all pervs here, but then again, who isn't?" Stefan said in a serious tone which made us laugh. "What? It's true! What's the difference between that and watching porn?"

I laughed even more at his rhetorical question. "Well, I think the difference is that 'this' is much better and if-"

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. The caller ID told me it was Jasper so I answered right away, but I couldn't hear anything. I motioned to Julian that I had to take the call and went downstairs to try and find a quieter area. I kept repeating myself, asking Jasper to hang on even though he hadn't spoken a word yet.

I finally decided just to go outside to speak to him as there was no way I'd be able to hear him otherwise. Once I was on the pavement, the only thing I could hear was his ragged breathing.

"Jasper? Fuck, talk to me." This went on for a few minutes before I finally heard his voice.

Fuck! What the hell had happened?

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><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<strong>_


	4. Yeah, sure, Batman

_**I can't thank Dariachenowith and WendyK enough for all their help and support! Thanks to C, too, who will be back once her hangover is well, over.**_

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><p><strong>Thank you to everyone who read until now and huge hug to the ones who reviewed! You really rock and make me all mushy inside. :)<strong>

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><p>Disclaimer: Lots of prostates, no Twilight.<p>

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><p><em><strong>Jasper<strong>_

Deep breath.

I could do this.

"I'm Bruce Wayne, darn it!"

Okay, that wasn't helping. I shook my head and hit the steering wheel once. I needed something to relate to! I had a mental flash of myself, then, with a leather skirt, a pink shirt and a mustache singing 'I want to break free!' Dang, that was scary. If I was going to go through with this I needed some serious inspiration!

"I'm Spartacus!"

I jumped. Not because I had found the perfect inspiration but because my own voice had startled me. Could I be any more pathetic? The car swerved for a second. Once I was back in the right lane, I sighed. Definitely not Spartacus. First, because I didn't know how to fight, and second because my dick and I weren't bisexual. At all.

I had tried, once. My dick was telling me I wasn't any more bisexual than it was, but I thought I'd test

the theory anyway.

Well, that was a huge mistake. The girl was nice. We were young and decided to experiment. I put my tongue in her mouth, which was sort of okay, I guess, but my dick was still trying to hide behind the few pubic hairs I had at the time. Then I touched her breasts. That made me feel uncomfortable, and I didn't like the texture.

She mustn't have liked it any better than I did because she soon took my hand and put it on her crotch. Well, I can say I didn't like it more there. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't exciting either. Although I tried my best, I clearly wasn't any better at it than I was at groping breasts. I don't think either of us got anything out of my little experiment, which made me feel a little bad for her as she was supposed to at least feel good, but she didn't seem fazed by what had or hadn't happened. She cleverly put me in the stupid category and went to get fingered by someone else.

I never tried again after that, but I really enjoyed touching Eric's cock the next week. You'd think that with parents like mine, I'd be scared they'd discover I was gay. Far from it. Whether they just didn't want to see it or they really were oblivious to it I didn't know, but while I had never flaunted it, I had also never really tried to hide it either. That's why I had told Edward that them knowing I was gay wouldn't change anything about their behavior. There are none so blind than those who will not see, right?

Mhm Edward.

Edward was…I don't know, but I'd totally do him. No, no, I couldn't think about that. I had to focus on the task at hand. Although it would be a good way to take my mind off things which is exactly what I was trying to do right now.

If I over thought things I'd never do it, and I needed to do it. I wasn't scared of my parents. No, I wasn't. Yes, I was. No, that's not true. I was scared of what would happen. If my message got through, there was a risk of it ending in an ugly way. I wanted them to let me live my life, but that didn't mean I was ready to hear them say they never wanted to see me again. I didn't know if that was something they would say, but I needed to be prepared in case they did.

Anyway, I think I pictured every possible outcome. That was how I did things; when I was decided to do something, I always pictured all of the possible things that could happen, so I'd know how to react.

Just thinking about tonight made me broke out in a cold sweat. I could feel my guts liquefying, too. Nothing could be worse than a case of diarrhea when you were about to fight a battle.

I should think about Edward. I could deal much better with a hard-on, not that it would stay that way once I entered my parents' house, anyway.

After I left him at his apartment building, I went home before I went to see my parents. I needed to think about what I'd tell them. I paced around the room for some time, talking to myself out loud. Then I left in_ their_ car. I hated this car. Why they had bought me a silver Volvo was a mystery. To me it didn't scream powerful lawyer but little old lady.

Oh, dang, I wasn't going to be able to confront them. I couldn't. Edward would tease me relentlessly if he saw me like this. I needed to get on with it, then things would be better.

I tried to think about happy things. Poker with Bex and Edward, Edward calling me Bruce Wayne, Edward's smile, Edward naked, hmmmmm, Edward bending me over his kitchen table, Edward thrusting into me... Wow, too many happy thoughts, waytoo many happy thoughts.

There was a strange car in front of my parents' house; that wasn't good. I already wasn't sure I could go through with it, but I was even less sure about it if there were going to be witnesses. I was shaking, had stomach cramps and wanted to throw up. I seriously needed to calm down. I took a few deep breaths and slowly got out of the car.

Once inside the house I was greeted by my parents, and to my horror, Angela. They all hugged me, Angela taking the opportunityto squeeze my ass. I jumped at her touch and excused myself to go to the toilet; my case of diarrhea wasn't getting any better.

I joined them in the living-room and sat down as far away from them as I could. I think I instinctively chose a seat as close as I could to the door. Of course Angela joined me on the sofa, and spent the next half hour stroking my thigh. She didn't seem to realize her advances weren't welcome. I squirmed, trying to move as far away from her as I could, r but she kept following me. The only option left would have been to sit on the armrest.

Trying to avoid her groping was keeping me from focusing on why I was here in the first place, and I started to get really angry at her. My parents seemed totally oblivious as usual and kept asking me questions about my meetings and praising the different people I had met with. It went on for a while, and I still hadn't said anything. I could feel my resolve crumbling; it was stifling**. **

I wasn't paying much attention to what was said, lost as I was in my head, picturing myself at 40 still doing everything my father wanted. I didn't remember moving but suddenly we were sitting around the table, and I was eating. I bet my father hadn't stopped talking for a second. My mother was nodding at whatever he was saying, and Angela had her hand on my crotch, as usual. And suddenly I couldn't deal with all of this anymore. I had rehearsed what I wanted to say but nothing came out as it should. If I hadn't heard myself, I could have sworn I hadn't spoken.

"I'm gay!"

There was a silence for a few seconds; even Angela's hand stopped, to my relief. Then my mother spoke,

"That isn't funny, Jasper."

My father looked at me quizzically and Angela scoffed, apparently dismissing what I had just said.

"I'm not trying to be funny. I'm gay."

I was eyeing my father, waiting for the reaction I knew would come, but he was just frozen. My mother stroked his hand, and he turned to her. He still didn't say a word, but she did, and what came out of her mouth chilled me.

"It's okay, John. We can work with it. I mean, everyone has their little secrets, right? He doesn't have to advertise it."

My father nodded his head and seemed to come out of his stupor. "Yes, yes of course."

"I mean, it's just like your friend Steven who has a tendency to, ah, 'like' his maids. Nobody says anything because he and Kathleen keep a united front."

Angela thought it clever to add her input. "Or Mr. Beckley who's an alcoholic, but he does it in private and I only know that because I'm friends with his daughter."

"Exactly!" My mother looked at me with a soft smile, seemingly saying 'See? Don't worry, you're safe.' I could have thrown up as the force of their words hit me in the gut.

"What? I don't want to hide! I'll be openly gay, whether you like it or not."

"Think about poor Angela! As her husband you won't be able to flaunt whatever it is that you want to do with _men." _My mother sounded so sure, as if me marrying Angela was still going to happen, even after telling her I was gay.

My father was fuming and ignored what my mother had just said in order to react to my words

"You will do no such thing." He hit the table with his fist to punctuate his words. "I don't care if your thing is to spread honey on your ass so you can get it licked off by a goat. But those things stay private. If you want to be gay, be gay! But no one is going to know about it. Do you think this would fly in your line of work? The answer is no. No one wants to be defended by a queer."

His words and the way he spat them at me cut through me like a knife. My nausea was still present as I raised my voice in anger.

"Don't you understand that I don't want this life!"

"Please explain what 'this life' entails, Jasper. Because all I see right now is a little brat having a tantrum over a trivial matter."

I couldn't believe my mother. Trivial matter? "This isn't trivial,it's my darn life!"

"Yes, because your mother and I are so mean to you. I'm sure a lot of kids would be happy to have mean parents like us."

"I don't want this life! Listen to me, I. Don't. Want. It!" I leaned towards my father, trying to get my message through to him. All it did was make his face turn an even darker shade of red as he screamed at me in rage.

"You better watch it, Jasper. We deserve more respect than that and you owe us for the life we've given you."

I stood up then, leaning over him.

"Respect? Respect! Like the respect you're giving me? What about respecting what I want? What about stopping for five minutes to think about what would make _me _happy?"

I was now shouting at him but I didn't care. I was normally someone who stayed calm and was respectful but they had gone too far. My father stood up then, agitating his forefinger at me and poking my chest to punctuate the words he uttered between clenched teeth.

"Don't you forget that without me you'd be nothing." _Poke_. "I gave you a name." _Poke_. "I gave you an education." _Poke_. "I fed you, clothed you and gave you a roof over your head." _Poke._ He had stepped away from the table to confront me and each poke made me take a step back. "You'd be even more of a failure than you are now if we hadn't pushed you!"

Sometimes you think you have heard enough and that nothing could crush you more, and then the people who supposedly love you unconditionally just destroy you a little more. My back was now against the wall, and his face was inches from mine.

"You don't like what we do for you? Too bad. You don't think I would have preferred to have someone clever and interesting for a son, rather than _you_?" he sneered, then added, "I always knew you were a fuck up, Jasper. I didn't think you'd be an ungrateful fuck up, too."

My anger kept me from crying at his words, but I wasn't sure I could hold on for long. I felt drained and sick. My nausea was back with a vengeance and I was shaking. He turned around to walk away but stopped at the sound of my voice. "How can you say that? I've done nothing but what you wanted up until now!"

"The fact that you believe that's good enough is further proof of your stupidity."

"I just don't want what you want for me, Dad."

I was fighting a losing battle, I knew that. I also knew that the weak tone of my last sentence would only reinforce what he thought of me.

"You're not worth wasting my time on. Listen carefully. Go live your life like the loser you are. Go do whatever it is you want to do." He let out a humorless laugh. "If you even know what 'it' is. Knowing you, you'll just waste your time and everyone else's. I don't give you more than two weeks before you come crawling back here asking for my help."

I couldn't say a word to him; he turned around and walked away. My shaking only increased as I walked over to where my mother was. "Mom?" I couldn't even form a full sentence.

"I don't understand, Jasper. After everything your father and I have done for you, that's how you thank us?"

I didn't want to answer, but she didn't give a chance, either. She turned around and joined my father in the kitchen. I guessed Angela had left sometime during the argument since she was nowhere to be seen. As I opened the front door, I heard his voice.

"The car stays here. I guess if you don't need us, you don't need it, either. You can have it back when_ y_ou come crawling back here. "

I stepped outside and started walking in the direction of my apartment. It would take me at least an hour to walk there but I didn't care. I couldn't think straight. The nausea was still there, clenching at my guts. After a few minutes of mindless walking, I felt bile rise into my mouth, and I just had enough time to crouch down before my dinner ended up on the pavement. I dry heaved some more after that, and dragged myself further away from where I had puked, until I sank down, my head resting on the grass

I stayed there, not moving, until I started crying, my body shaking with my sobs. I was crying for the pain their words had inflicted on me. For the things they had said _about_ me. For having parents capable of saying them. But I was also crying in relief because I had finally done it. I had finally said no, and it felt good as much as it hurt.

I didn't know how long I stayed there, my cries sometimes changing to laughter before they became sobs once again. My head hurt and my throat felt sore. I tried to calm my breathing and regain control over my body. As soon as I was calm again, my nausea came back and I turned my head to vomit again.

That's when I decided to call Edward. There was no way I was in any shape to go back home by myself. When he answered, I started sobbing again. That was stupid. I didn't think he could hear me, since he kept telling me to hang on. I could hear loud music and voices through the phone. At least it meant I wasn't disturbing him while he was at his parents.

The music stopped and I heard his voice clearly but I still couldn't speak. He asked me to talk to him a few times, but each time I tried to answer, my voice broke. I eventually asked him if he could come and get me. I had to look around to find out where I was, since I hadn't paid attention to where I was going before my nausea took over, but I was eventually able to give him an accurate location. I heard a string of curse words before he told me to stay put, and that he'd come and get me as soon as possible. Maybe _he_ was Bruce Wayne instead of me.

I closed my eyes and prayed that no one would walk by me. After a while, I heard a car stop and the sound of a car door opening and closing.

"Fuck. What did they do to you, Bruce?"

I didn't open my eyes, but smiled at his nickname for me. I knew he was using it right now only for my benefit. "I'm okay, Edward. Just thought I'd stop to puke a little. Cats do it; they're clever. I'm sure it's healthy."

I opened my eyes to see him hovering over me. "Come on, Jasper. Let's get out of here."

He extended his hand to help me up, but I shook my head. I wasn't really sure that my hands were vomit free. I sat down and took my shirt off to swipe it over my hands and mouth, then left it there on the ground when I stood up. My head was spinning and it took me a few seconds to get my equilibrium back.

"Can you can walk to the car?"

I simply nodded and got in. He got in the driver's side and started the car before turning to me.

"You'll tell me what happened?"

"Yeah, just not now. I think I need a shower and toothbrush before I can do that."

"Okay. Where do you want to go?"

"My place. I need to change clothes."

We spent the drive to my place in complete silence. I didn't think about anything special, besides the fact that his car was much more of a Batmobile than mine was. He had a cool and huge black SUV, which was a little weird for someone who only drove to get to work downtown.

Once there and parked, he followed me to my place. We hadn't talked yet but he didn't seem to mind the silence. Ben was obviously there as the music was blaring through the door. I wasn't in the mood to talk to him; I only hoped he wouldn't be rude to Edward while I was showering.

Ben was sprawled on the couch playing the Xbox with one of his friends. There were cartons of food and beer bottles scattered everywhere. I shook my head. I had been home this morning, and it had been clean. How he had made such a mess in such a short time was a mystery to me.

I introduced him to Edward. I didn't know his friend, and apparently I wouldn't get to know him as neither of them answered me. I gave Edward an apologetic smile, told him to wait for me, and rushed to my room to get ready. The closed door didn't do anything to silence the music. It was clear we wouldn't be staying here for long.

I avoided thinking about my evening while I showered and brushed my teeth. But I felt better once I was clean. I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. My eyes were puffy and red, partly from the hangover and partly from the confrontation with my parents. I felt old for a second, old and lost; I really didn't like feeling this way but it went away as fast as it had come.

I went back into the living-room where more of Ben's friends had arrived. Edward was leaning against a wall, watching them as if they were some members of a long-lost tribe. It made me chuckle. Because the music was blaring even louder now, Edward didn't hear me when I called him, but a friend of Ben's, who was closer to me, did.

"Jasper! Come have a beer with us!"

"Why do you even bother asking him? You know he won't." Ben looked at me with a knowing smirk. "Ain't that right, Jasper?"

I ignored him and motioned to Edward and the door.

"Aww, don't be like that, Jasper! Come back, have a beer, we'll teach you how to swear like a man."

I didn't turn around when I gave him the finger, but I glanced at Edward when he laughed at my gesture. He looked at me, surprised, and I just shrugged as I closed the front door behind us.

"Your roommate is ah, interesting."

"He's pig and a moron. I'm not even sure he knows how to write the word 'interesting'."

"Feisty."

I shrugged again. I was too tired to do anything else it seemed.

We were silent again on the way over to his place. We went directly into the kitchen where he made some coffee. It seemed the day was going to end the way it had started.

"Are you going to talk now?"

"I'm sorry I interrupted your evening."

He sat down in front of me and crossed his arms. "Dodging the questions already?"

"No. I'm really sorry I interrupted your evening. I wanted to say it."

He nodded. "It's okay, you didn't interrupt anything. I was… finished."

Cryptic. "Uh huh. I guess you won't expand on that?"

"You guessed right. You answer my question first. Only then will I answer yours."

"How is that fair?"

"I wasn't the one you picked up covered in snot and vomit on the side of the road, right?"

I shook my head.

"Then you have your answer, Jasper."

I passed my hands over my face, and he stood up to serve our coffee. When he sat down again, he motioned to me to start speaking. So I did. I told him about my nerves when I got there, I even told him about Spartacus, because apparently I couldn't refrain from giving him more ammunition to use against me. Then I recounted what was said, word for word. It wasn't easy by any means, but it was easier than I thought it would be. First, it helped me get it off my chest, and it was true it made the words my father said to me more real; it also made the fact that I was free of them more real, too.

"Wow. Your father is the biggest fucker ever. Tell me you didn't believe a word he said."

I sighed. "Not really-" He was going to interrupt me, so I lifted my hand to stop him. I needed him to listen. "I don't. I can't say his reaction surprised me, but it still hurt deeply. I think I'd have rather had him hit me, in a way. Even if I don't believe him, I can't say it won't change things. I don't know."

"Yeah, I understand. Words are more difficult to forget than bruises sometimes." There was a pause, then he added, "But remember; you're Bruce Wayne for fucks sake."

We couldn't keep from laughing at his words. He was trying to lighten the mood, and in a way, he did. I thought it was a good time to ask my questions. "So. You were… finished?"

He groaned, and I chuckled at his antics. "Come on, Edward! You said you'd answer my questions. And look at me, I'm miserable. I need a distraction!"

He shook his head. "Unbelievable. You'd use any excuse."

"Eh, I make do with what I have." He snorted at my words and took a sip of his coffee. "Come on, it can't be that bad?"

"Nope. I went to a club after I got back from dinner at my parent's."

"And?"

"And I watched a couple of guys fucking while I wanked."

I was stuck between thinking 'too much information' and 'wow, that's pure honesty'. The latter won for different reasons. It was cool he could talk about it so openly. I probably could have said it too, if I were him but not without blushing and stuttering. And he had actually answered a darn private question.

"Just like that?"

"Just like what, Jasper?"

"I don't know, I'm curious."

"About?"

"About how you came to watch some guys fucking." Okay, this conversation was making me hard, which I really didn't mind. I looked at him, trying to convince him with my eyes to explain further. Darn it! I was puppy dog eye'ing him! He had been right! I stopped what I was doing, and I'm sure that realization was written all over my face as he started laughing at me.

"Oh, come on, Edward! Tell me."

"There's this gay club not far from here, and one of my -uhm I wouldn't say friends, but close enough- is a regular. He has a thing for being watched, I have a thing for watching." He laughed again at my surprised expression. "So sometimes we, ah, 'work' together."

"You like to watch."

"I do. I only like it when people are aware of it, so I'm not exactly your regular Peeping Tom, although I'm not far from it." He shrugged. "Being a voyeur is part of my sexuality, that's all. And really, who wouldn't prefer to wank in front of real porn instead of in front of a movie?"

I chuckled. "People who don't like being watched as they jerk off?"

"Yeah, maybe, but why would they care?"

"Don't look at me, I don't know." I proceeded to ask my next question before he could ask anything about what I had just said. "So why not just join in the fun?"

"I'm picky."

Okay. So I had to be careful about how I asked Edward my questions. It seemed that depending on how I asked, I either got the full answer or the short one.

"And?"

"And I'd rather have a great wank than a lousy fuck. I don't care for fucking the first guy I meet. Don't get me wrong, I love fucking. "And I just twitched in my pants**.** I bet he knew the impact his words had on me, based on the little smile he sent me, but he kept on talking. "But it's more often than not a disappointment, at least with one night stands. I've had my fair share of them, though, but as I said, more often than not they weren't great. Since watching is as much a part of my sexuality as fucking is, that's that.

"So, I guess it was good?"

He gave me a devilish smile before answering. "Better than good."

Dang, now I was picturing him masturbating. At least it was a good way to get my mind off the disaster with my parents. I must have stayed silent for a while because he waved hand in front of my eyes.

"Still here?"

"Uh, what? Yes. Yes. I'm definitely here."

He smirked, then replied, "Yeah, sure, Batman."

"But of course, Robin."

"I'm not Robin. Maybe you don't remember but I told you that already. Not. Robin."

"And yet you keep calling me Batman."

"Ah yes, but that's because I wasn't the one shouting I was Bruce Wayne last night."

I groaned; he was right. Why the duck had I even said that?

"Come on." He stood up and put our cups in the sink. "I guess you're staying again tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm not ready to go back to Cavemen Land. So, if you don't mind…"

"You're aware that I only have one bed, right?"

As if I could forget, and I was so glad about that. That reminded me that I hadn't asked again why his apartment was empty. I was just about to ask when he left the kitchen. I followed him into the bedroom.

"The bathroom is over there if you need it."

"No, I'm okay, I showered not long ago, remember?"

He looked at me, seemingly trying to stifle a smile.

"What? It's true, I showered at home."

"I know. I was just thinking that tonight you actually heard the end of my sentence."

"I don't remember you talking about bathroom last night."

"Obviously not since you were already snoring on my bed by then."

He entered the bathroom and closed the door, leaving me alone in his bedroom. I took a look around, noticing once more how empty it was. I walked up to the window where some papers were piled and picked one up; his last name was Masen, that's the only thing I learned from it. I put it down as fast as I had picked it up. The last thing I wanted to do was to snoop around.

Since there wasn't any furniture, I wondered where to put my clothes. Then I wondered which clothes to leave on and which to get rid of. Should I get rid of the shirt? Should I- I cut my musing short then, because I was going to drive myself crazy wondering about it otherwise. Next I would be wondering which side of the bed to take or if I should put my feet under or on top of the sheets.

That was one of the things I liked about Edward, he didn't seem to 'wonder'. Things were the way they were and that was it. He knew what my place would be like tonight, and probably figured that I didn't want to go home. He just stated the facts, no questions asked; no 'what ifs' or 'should I'.

By the time he came out of the bathroom I had laid down on the right side of the bed, shirtless, -one foot under the covers and the other on top of them. It did keep me from being too warm at night, and I was lost in thought over the roller coaster ride my day had been.

He joined me in bed, leaning back against the wall in a sitting position.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. No, but yes. Yes."

"You're aware that you made fun of me when I gave the same kind of answer earlier today, Bruce?"

"Yes I'm aware of that. Your job, right?"

"Yup. So what has you so confused?"

Dang it, he always came back to me. "Not confused."

"Then what?"

"I don't know. I'm happy I met you. I still feel physically ill at what went down tonight with my parents, but I'm also elated at what went down tonight with my parents." I looked at him and we laughed at the dichotomy of my feelings. I kept going. "I'm dead tired but I'm not looking forward to waking up tomorrow because then I'll have to deal with what happened today all over again. But I also can't wait for tomorrow becauseI'll be able to put what happened today in the past." I chuckled. "You're right, _I am_ confused."

"Yeah, it's normal. Don't beat yourself up over it. Plus tomorrow will be fun, we have our poker game planned with Bex, remember?"

"You saw how she was today?" He nodded. "Imagine how she'll be when I tell her what happenedtonight."

We burst out laughing and it took some time for us to calm down. I slid down the bed to lie flat on my back and he mirrored my position. I didn't think I would be awake much longer. I really felt burned out.

"So what are you going to do now that The Plan has been killed?"

"I have no idea." I turned my head to look at him and smiled. "Darn, it feels good to be able to say that."

He chuckled at my words and faced the ceiling again. "You know, your choice of swear words is kind of growing on me. Well, maybe not 'duck', though." He started laughing and I hit him on the chest to make him stop, but it only made him laugh harder.

I closed my eyes and felt panic bubbling up in me as some of the words my father had thrown at me flashed through my head, but I was quick to replace them with a feeling of accomplishment for having gone through with it. I fell asleep feeling good for the first time in as long as I could remember.

That night was also the first night I had porn dreams about Edward Masen.

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><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<strong>_


	5. Do you fold, Batman?

**_Thanks to my wonderful (mud-less _****_and _****_sober _****_) pre readers/cheerleaders Dariachenowith and Chrissy. And thanks to my beta WendyK, once again I rushed her but she still doesn't hate me._**

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><p><strong>A huge thank you to YOU, for reading and for reviewing. I can't express how touched I am that you take the time to share your thoughts with me. Once again: you rock! <strong>(If I missed replying to any of you, my apologies, my inbox was all messed up)**  
><strong>

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><p><em>Disclaimer: The fact that canon Edward doesn't know where his prostate is proves that I don't own twilight.<em>

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><p><em><strong>Edward<strong>_

I watched as Jasper fell asleep.

The guy never stopped surprising me. Thinking back on how it had gone with his parents and how his father had treated him, I was amazed that he had held it together. I really didn't know how I would have reacted, but probably not that well. Parents are really the only people who can fuck that much with your head, I guess.

Jasper turned on his side facing me and, in the same manner as the night before, he moved closer to me Inch by inch, until his head rested on my chest and one of his legs straddled mine. I pushed him away as gently as I could until he was back on his side of the bed but not ten minutes later he was glued to me again. I repeated the slow push to get him to move further away from me and turned on my side, facing the other way.

I had just started to drift asleep when I felt his hand snake under my armpit until it rested on my chest, seconds before his whole body ended up flushagainst mine. I didn't try to push him away again. Apparently it was a lost cause anyway and I fell asleep like that, encased in his arms, his face nestledin the back of my neck.

In the middle of the night I woke up when he started to dry hump me. I couldn't hold back a laugh and tried to push him off me, but he was set on staying where he was. I had no choice but to really push him hard. He turned over to sleep on his front, sighed, and stayed there. At least I didn't remember him trying to hump me again.

When I woke up the next morning, I was alone in bed. I could hear him moving around in the kitchen, then a clear 'darn it!' Chuckling, I stretched my arms and legs, and didn't even wonder what he was doing. I'd know soon enough. I stood up, grabbed my shirt and pants, and slipped them onas I walked to the kitchen.

I leaned on the doorframeand watched as he tried to pick a fight with my coffee machine. He was apparently losing, and decided to change tactics. I'm sure I heard him beg it to make him coffee.

"Oh, I see how it is. Alfred takes a day off and Bruce Wayne is lost.**" **

I couldn't keep a straight face as he jumped and emitted what sounded like a shriek. He was so engrossed in his plea to my coffee maker that he really hadn't noticed me. He ended up with ground coffee all over his face and chest and dropped the handle of the coffee maker on the kitchen floor.

What a picture! There was ground coffee everywhere. His expression as he looked at me made me laugh so much that I slid down the doorframe onto the floor. His eyes were now shooting daggers at me, all the while wiping coffee off of his face; it was difficult not to laugh even harder. Luckily he found the situation funny, too, since he was laughing himself.

"Oh fuck, Bruce, I think I'll keep you around. I've laughed more in the last two days than in the whole last year."

He squinted his eyes at me and let a fake laugh out.

"I'm so happy to be your entertainment. And for the sake of your future social interactions, people don't like it when you sneak up on them."

He spent the next minute spitting out the ground coffee that had slid into his mouth while he talked. I started laughing again which made him scowl. I don't think he was really pissed, but I couldn't stop laughing anyway. When he picked up the sponge to start cleaning, I stood up and helped him.

"I don't sneak up on people."

"Of course you do. You did it yesterday, and you did it again just now."

He waved the sponge in the air as he spoke and I chuckled, which made him throw his arms up in a huff. After throwing the sponge in the sink, he turned to me and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Are you going to laugh at me for much longer?"

I tried to rein in my laughter, I really tried, but here he was, standing in front of me covered in coffee and half-sulking. If the word 'cute' had been in my vocabulary, I'd have used it. He shook his head, trying to keep a straight face. "I just wanted to make coffee before you woke up, darn it!"

I calmed down and stared at him. "Well, I'm happy you didn't." He was trying to understand what I had just said. "I mean what I woke up to was worth the wait for my coffee." He snorted and I added, "Go take a shower. I'm hungry, so if it's okay with you I'd rather go somewhere where there's actual food."

Jasper nodded before leaving the kitchen, and I finished cleaning it. Half an hour later we were seated in the diner a few doors down**. **Once the food was ordered I thought it was the right time to talk about him.

"Are you okay?"

He glanced at me, surprised, and gave me a noncommittal "Yeah, sure."

I leaned back in my seat and looked at him expectantly.

"The truth?"

"What else, Jasper?"

He chuckled and spent a while playing with his empty glass, seemingly lost in thought.

"I feel weird." He glanced at me, I suppose to see my reaction to his words, but when he saw I had none, he kept going. "First, I spent my whole life knowing what I was going to do next. And then, I spent the last months with only one thought in mind, telling my father off. Now it's done, I just… don't know what to do with myself."

He stared at me then as he kept talking. "What do you do after the battle has been fought? And why the duck do I feel kind of, uhm, 'empty'? It's like I'm floating, you know?" He shook his head and added, "I don't know how to explain it very well."

"Do you regret what happened?"

"Oh, darn, no! I'd do it again. I can't say I'm happy with the outcome but I'd be downright miserable if I hadn't gone through with it."

I smiled at him. "Then I guess the rest will fall into place. I don't think it's strange for you to feel that way. It only happened last night. I guess now you need to decide what you want to do. I wouldn't see it as a scary thing if I were you, I mean, it's exciting, too, don't you think?"

"I suppose, it is." He chuckled. "What would _you_ do?"

"Oh no, no. That kind of thing never works and I'm probably not the best one to give you advice on what to do."

"Oh, come on, Edward, you act all Zen and wise half the time! I'm sure you have advice for me."

I laughed. "Zen and wise? Have you looked at me, really?"

He opened his mouth, then closed it. Shook his head and finally, spoke emphatically. "Yes, that I did."

I ignored the tone he used and focused on the conversation we were having. "Then, I don't know how you can say that. I'm the guy living in an empty apartment, for fuck's sake. If I had any wisdom about what to do, I'd do it."

"Uhm yeah, about that. Why is your apartment empty?"

"I sold everything."

"That's a start. But it doesn't really explain things."

Just then the waitress brought us our food, keeping me from answering. I had started eating when Jasper spoke again.

"Edward, unless you tell me to drop the topic again, I won't. Why are you living in an empty apartment?"

I told him then about the job I took when I graduated high school. How it only meant to last a year while I took the time to figure things out. How I had never figured anything out, and how I had always wanted to road trip because I felt something, somewhere was bound to really interest me and I wasn't going to find it by sitting where I was. And I ended telling him how close I had been to doing it, and how my cowardice had stopped me.

"So you would just leave?"

"Yes, for a year or so. I don't hate my job, that's what kills me."

"It kills you that you like your job?"

"That's the thing, I don't _like_ it! I just don't _hate_ it. And I thought that if it was the best thing out there for me, fine. But at least if I had gone, I'd be sure by now."

"So you wanted to leave to be sure that you _liked_ your job?"

"No. Yes." We laughed at my words, but he still had a perplexed look on his face. "I took this job to do something while I was thinking about what I wanted to do with my life, but the job became my life. I don't know, I guess I thought that I could learn a thing or two about myself by leaving. And just learn things! I've been here all my life, and maybe that's the best thing for me, but you know what scares me the most?"

He shook his head and waited for my answer.

"That ten years from now I'll be exactly how I am today. I don't want that. I want to wake up one night wondering if my life is okay – even if I'm still doing the same job as now - and be able to say_ 'yes, it i_s' because I _know_ I did my best to be sure of that. I wouldn't regret where I was, because I'd have done everything I wanted to do."

"How can you be sure you'll achieve your goal?"

"I can't. But one thing I've learned is that the goal is in the process."

"So either way you can't lose. Interesting." He took a sip of his coffee, lost in thought again. "And you never left but you never bought back your furniture, either."

It was more of a statement than a question, so I just nodded as I resumed eating.

"I gather you still want to leave?" He had a frown on his face while he spoke and I couldn't keep from smiling. Jasper was seriously growing on me.

"I don't know what to answer. I've proven to myself already that I couldn't do it." I shrugged. "Maybe one day, who knows?"

He nodded to himself and finished eating.

"So when are we going to see Bex?"

He checked his watch before replying. "In about three hours, I guess."

"That early?" I was surprised. I thought it would be much later.

"It's a retirement home, Edward; people can't come and go as they please."

"Well they should, she isn't in prison!"

He shrugged. "That's how it is. We'll bring her a late lunch. I'm sure she won't want to eat any of the crap they serve there."

"What should we get her?"

"Pizza, if you know what's good for you. I tried to bring her something healthier once. I won't do that again."

I had to laugh at that. It was so easy to picture Bex having a fit over said healthy food.

"Oh, you can laugh all you want, Edward. I can't wait for the day she yells at you!"

"I'm sure she can be scary, yeah."

"There's a good pizza place not far from here, I usually go there when I bring her some. They make her favorite 'hot sausage and pineapple.' But please don't say hot sausage in front of her, she'll make lewd comments and bad puns, again."

I chuckled as I motioned to the waitress to bring us the bill. I wouldn't mind hearing Bex's bad puns and lewd comments. I put enough money on the table to cover both our meals and stood up. Jasper was still sitting down and I turned to him to see what was holding him up. He was looking at me strangely.

"You know you don't have to pay for me, right?"

"I know that, why?"

He finally stood up and we left the diner. As we walked to my place, he resumed our conversation.

"You paid for me."

Where was he going with that? Hadn't anyone ever paid for him? It was breakfast, for fuck's sake, people didn't have to split the bill to the cent each time they had something to eat together. "And?"

"I don't know. It's _nice._"

"I'm a nice guy, Jasper. What's up with you? Are you having one of your inner conversations again?"

"What? Huh, no. Maybe? I- well, you paid for me!"

"And? I paid your tab when you fell asleep on the bar the other night, too. Are you going to keep saying _'you paid for me'_ because of it?"

"Oh dang, I hadn't thought about that! You paid for me?"

I stopped walking and turned to him. "Really? You're just going to repeat that again and again?"

"No! But I can't believe I didn't even think that you had to have paid for me since I was in no shape to do it."

"Well, you can't fight crime _and_ think about trivial things such as bar tabs, I guess." I started walking again and it took him a few seconds to catch up with me.

**.*.**

It wasn't consciously decided but we ended up in my kitchen again, where we talked until it was time to leave for Bex's.

I learned some things about him during those few hours, like the fact that we had the same taste when it came to literature -we spent an hour praising Christopher Moore and Chuck Palahniuk 's talent - but had very few things in common when it came to music. I had to shake my head at a lot of artists he named; most were part of my 'they suck' folder. We argued about that for the next two hours as I listened to him defend the things he liked and why they didn't suck and I did the same. In the end we agreed to disagree but that conversation was far from over.

I also learned to read him better. Jasper had a lot of different expressions depending on what was going on. I already could easily spot his 'I'm having an argument with myself' face. But he'd also scratch his nose when he was eager to answer something but didn't want to interrupt. One of his eyebrows would shoot up when he was sure he was going to make a winning argument. He also had a different way of frowning and each one meant something different.

We took my car and stopped at the place he had talked about earlier to buy the pizzas. I asked him what kind of lewd comments Bex would make about the hot sausage but he wouldn't say, stating that hearing them once was enough for him.

Once there, I was the one knocking on her door this time, and she probably knew it was us since she didn't shout any insults.

She was dressed today, and out of bed. I smiled at her as I put the pizzas on a small table. I hadn't realized last time how frail she was. She took one look at me and said,

"Don't look at me as if I'm going to break. I could kick your ass if I wanted to, Edward."

I chuckled. "I don't doubt that for a minute, Bex. Please don't hurt me."

She swatted my arm and hugged me, then looked at Jasper.

"Oh, my. Aren't you glowing today, boy?" She glanced at me as if I was responsible for that, then looked back to Jasper and sighed. "No, it's not _that_ kind of glowing, sadly. You boys haven't learned anything, have you?"

I had started speaking when she cut me off.

"Later, Edward. I want to hear what happened to Jasper."

I sat down in the closest armchair, and watched the Bex show. They were both standing up, Bex looking expectantly at Jasper who once again had his hand in his short hair.

"I had dinner with my parents last night."

"Oh, boy. I think I need to sit down." She took a seat next to me and motioned to Jasper to keep talking. He started to pace around the room instead.

"Come on, boy, don't leave me hanging here, I could die from a heart attack from all the tension in the room. And I'm not talking about the sexual tension."

I choked at her words and she turned to me. "What? Clearly the poor boy has the hots for you. Don't tell me you're that blind!" Before I could say anything, she was on Jasper again. "Come on, boy, you're killing me here!"

Jasper was trying not to laugh, but the fact that he didn't look at me showed he was a little uncomfortable.

"Bex, your heart is in perfect condition; don't pull that card with me. And if you stop talking about my sex life for a -"

"Your lack of a sex life, boy."

"If you stop interrupting me I'll tell you what happened!"

"Go on, then!"

Jasper huffed playfully, glanced at me and then became serious again. He told Bex in detail what had happened the day before, giving her some small details he hadn't shared with me yet. I really wanted to seek his father out and punch him for what he had said. I had had the same reaction last night and I believed I would always feel that way; but a fucker like that didn't need more attention.

Bex stayed silent for few minutes after Jasper had finished talking, then she stood up and hugged him before sitting down again.

"I'm proud of you, boy. It must have been hard to do. Your parents are fucked up but they'll realize what they have lost in the long run."

"Thanks, Bex. Although I wouldn't bet on that last part."

"Oh, I didn't say they'd act on it. God knows they're stupid enough to let their pride get in the way. You may never hear from them again. But that doesn't mean they won't regret it." She stared at him. "But don't _you_ regret it, boy. They'd have killed you in the end."

"Yeah, I know, Bex."

"I still wish you had punched that bastard."

Jasper and I chuckled. I had to admit that I agreed with her.

"Yeah, well, I wasn't really in that state of mind. And to be honest, I was afraid of where it would end up if we started using fists."

She made a gesture with her hand, as to say it was okay. "You made the right choice anyway. But Jasper?" She waited for him to look at her before resuming. "If you ever want to do something about it, I know some _people._"

She said the last word meaningfully.

"You want to kill my father?" He looked at me, shocked. "She's scary, she knows people who kill."

"OH, stop it! Nobody's going to die. But they could teach him a lesson, if you know what I mean_._"

"Please, let's stop talking about this. I feel like we're in the Mafia! And how do you even know people like that?"

"That, my dear boy, is one of my many secrets. But tell me, what are you going to do now?"

I laughed and Jasper joined me. That was the million dollar question.

He stopped laughing and replied "I have no darn clue, Bex. I guess I'll have to live and see."

"That's a good idea, boy. Give yourself some time." She looked at us both. "So, apart from this clusterfuck, what else has happened since yesterday? I'm bored out of my mind here."

Jasper took a seat and moved it closer to where we were as he talked. "If you would deign to talk to the other residents, you wouldn't be so bored, you know."

She gazed at him with a mock shocked look on her face. "Have you seen who the other residents are? Half of them can't talk, the other half only do it to talk about day time soap operas .Do I look like I care what happened in Genoa City? No, I don't look like I do, because I don't give a fuck!"

Jasper and I were laughing our asses off at her rant; he looked at me, mouthing 'Genoa City?' I shook my head at him because I had no idea, either. Our laughter didn't seem to faze her as she kept going.

"The other day I said cock in a sentence and all I heard were gasps. The ones not gasping were the ones deaf as a post**. **I mean, 'cock'! Some of them have one, the others have at least seen one during their lives! Who is outraged at the word cock?"

She was getting herself riled up and I was laughing so much I was almost crying as I pictured her saying that to a bunch of the people living here.

"Stop laughing, you two. It's not funny, they're so weird." She sighed. "I miss seeing cocks you know and touching -"

"Whoa, okay, Bex we got it!"

Jasper cut her off. I couldn't say anything. I was still laughing too much but I wouldn't have interrupted her even if I could have.

"But I do! And it kills me that you _can_ and you _don't_!"

"What? How come it's back to me? Don't put your need to see or touch cocks on me!"

I was slowly sliding off the chair by then. Bex had joined in my laughter, and glancing at her I understood that she had known exactly what she was doing which made me laugh even harder. I was bent in two and still dangerously sliding towards the floor.

"I still think you should get your freak on, Jasper."

They seriously had to stop that shit, because I was already gasping for air. I didn't need to choke, too.

"Can we change the topic, please? Are you hungry? We brought pizza."

"I don't want to change the topic, boy. But, yes, I'd love some pizza. What did you get?"

"Uhm, pizza?"

My ass was on the floor by then as I watched Jasper trying to keep from saying hot sausage. I was anticipating it so much that I could barely breathe.

"Yes boy, but what kind of pizza?"

Bex sent me a wink which made me double up in laughter and he glanced at me, seemingly asking for some help.

"Pineapple and uhm, hot sausage."

The look of mischief on Bex's face, and the way Jasper had mumbled the last words, made me laugh even louder. He turned to me then, glaring. After calming down enough to utter anything coherent I choked out,

"Don't look at me like that! I did exactly what you told me to, and I wasn't the one saying the words!"

Bex let out a mock gasp. "Jasper, I thought you wanted to change the topic? And did you ask Edward to hide the hot sausage?"

"See? I told you she'd make a bad joke!"

"Oh, come on, Jasper. It was funny. Now give me some of that pizza." She took the slice he handed her, then added, "You should have some. I know you're in need of a hot sausage, too."

Jasper sat down in his seat, defeated, and watched me laugh for a moment. "You are aware that she's talking about_ your_ 'hot sausage_'_, right? Soon she'll start aiming her bad jokes at you." Just then Bex spoke again.

"So Edward, I guess you haven't seen any more cock lately than Jasper has."

That sobered me up a bit, but the way she was talking so casually didn't make me stop laughing.

"Well, actually I have, Bex."

She looked at me wide eyed and smiling, then frowned and turned to Jasper.

"You knew about that?" He chuckled then nodded. She stayed silent a minute, and after looking from him to me a few times, she asked him, "Are you the one who showed him his - "

"What! No! Why would you ask that?" She sent him a pointed stare that I didn't understand - as I felt there was more behind it than just Bex's not-so-subtle matchmaking- but seemed to freak him out a little. "Why would I show him my -" He waved his hand. "Show him. And then not do anything?" She kept looking at him the same way and he rolled his eyes before adding. "That's not how it works, and really, why am I having this conversation with you?"

I was confused. "How what works?"

Just then the door opened and a woman entered. I guessed she was the nurse and fourth player Bex had talked about yesterday. She was of average height with short, black hair, a frank smile and the biggest ass and boobs I had ever seen.

"Hi, Rebecca! I see your company has arrived." She smiled at us and said to Bex, "Oh, wow, not the company I'm used to seeing in this place." Next she mouthed 'they're hot'.

"Don't bother Marge, they're gay. One day, when they pull their heads out of their asses, they'll fuck."

Jasper stood up. "Aaaaand it's so nice to meet you, I'm Jasper." He motioned to me. "And that's Edward."

"Well Jasper, spending time with Bex is always entertaining, but you two will make this game even better."

We helped her set up the table and chairs as we ate, and once everyone had a drink, we sat down to play. Bex was on my right, Marge on my left and Jasper on the opposite side of the table from me. "So, what are we playing?"

"Hold'em, of course. You know how to play, right?" I nodded. "Then you'll be the dealer for this hand. Marge, give us our chips."

I picked up the deck of cards but before I could deal she added. "We play with blinds, too."

I waited for Marge and Jasper to make the blinds then dealt the cards. As the hands passed I watched them and how they played. Jasper's look of concentration was fun, and it was amusing to see that he was displaying the same reactions and gestures as when we talked in my kitchen earlier.

It was much more difficult to know what was going on with Bex. She hid her game pretty well. Marge was good but too eager; everything was written on her face and it was hard to miss when she thought she could make something good out of her cards. She was also easily destabilized.

We played for a long time in silence, Bex set on playing within the rules but they were all drinking pretty heavily and became more talkative with each hand. Well, mostly Marge and Jasper were, even if he had switched to soda not long before. Bex was holding her liquor well; I was really impressed with the amount she had consumed so far. I only had beer with the pizza and took a small drink of the whisky Marge had brought, but I had stopped after that since I needed to drive us back.

"I won!"

Jasper was dancing on his chair. I had to admit he had played his hand well.

"I won, you duckers! Give me your chips!"

Bex pushed her chips towards him. "Boy, you can't expect to be taken seriously if you say 'duckers'.

"Whatever, Bex. The train of your insults rolls on the rails of my indifference." He made a gesture of dismissal before picking up her chips.

We all laughed at his words. His brain really worked in mysterious ways, and fuck, I liked it.

Marge leaned into me then. "Are they always like that?"

I chuckled and replied in a conspiratorial tone. "They can be much worse."

We kept playing, with Bex shushing us regularly; it was really a lost cause but she tried. She won often and each time she did she would brag about it. The more she drank, the longer it lasted. It was hilarious to witness.

"And I won again! How does it feel for you two gay men to be screwed by an old fart?" She hit the table a few times while laughing her ass off.

"I'm the Queen of Poker! Say it! Say it!"

We were too busy laughing to answer her, plus I don't really think she was waiting for one. I won my fair share of hands after that. Actually I was winning more and more. Not being drunk helped a lot. Jasper was sobering up but that wasn't helping his game.

Bex really wanted to win and after a while I guess she decided to change tactics. She had kept quiet -mostly- during the hands themselves, trying to respect her own rule. But after seeing me win several hands, she began trying to distract me. We had just started a new game, Marge had already folded and Jasper seemed on the verge of doing the same when she shouted,

"Edward saw a cock last night."

I saw through her ploy and didn't say anything. Jasper, on the other hand, had forgotten all about his cards and was watching Bex, open-mouthed.

Marge laughed and looked at me. "Lucky you. How was it?"

"Good. I saw two, actually. Well, three I guess. Four if you count mine."

It was Bex's turn to be distracted. "That's a lot of cocks!"

I smiled at her and turned to Jasper. So, do you raise or do you fold, Batman?"

"Batman?" Bex was eyeing Jasper, trying not to laugh. "Batman! Boy, you might be into more kinky things than I thought. But whatever rocks your boat. And if you're lucky, maybe Edward is into some Batman kink, too."

"What? No! It's just the night we-" He stopped himself from finishing the sentence. I laughed as it was clear why he hadn't finished it. Bex would never leave that alone if she knew. He just waved his hand dismissively and told us he'd fold.

Luckily for him, Bex decided not to comment. She was clever, and though she liked to tease him, she knew when not to push. Instead she came back to the cock comment. "No, seriously, three cocks?"

"We're playing, Bex." I chuckled. "Well, I saw two very well. The third one was harder to look at what with the mouth wrapped around it, you know?"

Jasper emitted an 'uh huh' with a far away look on his face and glanced back at me, discreetly rearranging himself. He was a horny fucker, that was for sure. Bex had still not said anything about the game and I turned to her with a questioning look.

"I raise. Are you into orgies, Edward?"

"Definitely not. I raise, too. Showdown, Bex." I wriggled my eyebrows at her and added. "Show me yours and I'll show you mine."

I won that hand and we decided to play a last one; Bex did all she could to make us lose our focus. It was easy with Marge, and Jasper only needed to hear the word cock attached to either the words, 'mouth', 'thrust' or 'hand'; way too easy in a poker game, right?

Bex won this one; she had finally managed to make me lose focus when she made a comment about Jasper's mouth wrapped around my cock. That, and she had a better hand, anyway, but still. Now I had that picture engraved in my head and the hard-on that went with it.

We finished our drinks and cleaned the room. Marge said goodbye, stating that we should play again soon and it was out turn to wish Bex good night. All in all we had stayed a few hours and it was time for us to leave.

"Edward, since I have a cockless life, I'll need to live vicariously through you. Next time I'd like to know the story behind the two and a half cocks."

I laughed. "You're crazy, Bex."

"I know! Nobody wants to believe me when I say it!" She hugged and kissed me. "Go. But come back soon, alright?"

"As soon as I can. I'm working tomorrow but I'll find some time."

"Plus, don't you forget my days are free now." We turned to Jasper, who was laughing.

Bex motioned for him to come to her and she hugged him, too. "Once again, boy, I'm proud of you." She gazed into his eyes and he nodded, then she hugged him again. "Okay. Out you two. I need my beauty sleep and I haven't stared enough at my ceiling today. Let me be bored in peace."

"Aww, Bex, you-"

"Shut it Jasper, off you go, boy. I'll see you soon."

**. * . *.**

"So Bex kind of cheats at poker."

Jasper chuckled. "Well, she will argue that losing your focus is on you. Since she isn't tampering with the cards, it can't be called cheating."

I glanced at him and smiled. "Hmm, I still call it cheating."

"She totally is." He guffawed. "But I would seriously miss it if she stopped doing it."

"Yup. So where to?"

He sighed and looked out the window. We had been driving for a few minutes now, and I was waiting for him to tell me where to take him. As much as I didn't mind him crashing at my place, he did have one of his own; avoidance wasn't a solution.

"My place I guess. I hope it's still standing after Ben's party."

When we arrived there, Jasper's roommate was in front of the building, smoking. As soon as he saw us he caught Jasper by his shirt and shoved him against the wall. I grasped his fist before he could hit Jasper and pushed him back. "Whoa, what do you think you're doing?"

"What am _I_ doing? Ask _him_ what he did, instead.

Okay, that was weird. Last night Ben had seemed like a prick but he wasn't pissed at Jasper. I didn't understand what had happened in between. Even more so because Jasper had spent the day with me. Jasper didn't seem to get it any more than I did.

"Darn it, Ben. What's up with you?"

"What's up with me is that your father sent movers today. Everything you had except the crap is gone and now I'm left alone to pay the fucking rent!"

"What? When? How do you know?"

"How do I know? Don't you think four big guys carrying your furniture out would be telling enough?"

"No, I meant about my father?"

I didn't want to add to the situation, but it was pretty clear his parents were behind that.

"Because I asked one of the guys and he told me! You could have let me know you were moving out!"

Jasper stood silent so I answered Ben. "As you can see by looking at him, he didn't know either."

"Oh, that's fucking great! You pissed off daddy dearest? Couldn't you have let me know beforehand? You're lucky Andy agreed to move in right away or I'd have beaten you up for that little stunt."

Jasper was still lost in thought so I didn't know if he heard, but I sure did. And I couldn't say I liked it one bit. "Try to stop acting like an asshole for ten seconds. And if you touch him again, I'll be the one kicking your ass."

"What did he leave?"

Ben eyed me warily before answering Jasper. "I don't know, CDs, some clothes, your fucking toothbrush, what do I care!"

Without looking at us, Jasper entered the building. I followed him inside and into his room. He stared in silence and I gave him space since he seemed to be processing things.

I stayed with him, though. Ben joined us and was his cheery self again.

"I want all this crap gone tonight. Andy is bringing some stuff later, and will be moving in tomorrow morning."

He was really rubbing me the wrong way. "Hey, you could be a bit nicer, fucker. He just learned it's not his place anymore. Have some decency, for fuck's sake."

"It doesn't matter, Edward."

"How can you say that, Jasper? He's just a fu-"

"I'm leaving town, anyway."

_What?_

"You're leaving?"

He looked at me then and replied.

"_We_ are leaving."

I blinked.

"Okay."

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><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<strong>_


	6. You're a strange man, Batman

_**Thank you to Dariachenowith and Chrissy because they kick ass and to WendyK because she rocks.**_

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><p><strong>A huge Thanks to YOU again for reading and reviewing! <strong>**You**** seriously blow my mind each time!**__

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><p>Disclaimer: a cock and a prostate meet. well, that's all I have, sorry<em><strong><em>.<em>**_

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><p><em><strong>Jasper<strong>_

He had said yes, right?

Oh, darn it.

I was leaving.

With Edward.

I had toyed with the idea of the road trip since he had told me about it this morning. I needed some time off, and it was something he had always wanted to do. Perfect. But I never would have expected I'd be uttering those words today or ever, for that matter.

When I'd thought about suggesting it, I had felt like I would be intruding. It was 'his thing' after all, so instead I only had pictured how it would be to road trip with him.

Meanwhile I had been thinking about my future all day long; taking a job with one of the law firms had seemed like the best solution, even if the prospect didn't thrill me.

But then tonight, as I stood in my empty room, leaving had felt like the obvious choice. For both of us.

This really was a new start. I had to take this chance, and I really wanted to take it with Edward.

And dang, he had said _yes_. This was huge.

I repeated his answer. "Okay_?_"

He only nodded and picked up a bag from the floor. "Come on, Jasper. Let's pick up what's left and leave."

It took only a few minutes to look around, decide what I wanted to keep and wrap it up. I started packing the things I didn't need but Edward made me stop.

"Who cares? Let Ben deal with the crap. Leave it there, that'll teach him."

As we left, I heard Ben's voice. "Are you fucking kidding me? Jasper! All your crap is still here and you didn't clean up! You'd better come back!"

I was feeling bad, so I hesitated, wondering for a second if cleaning up wasn't the right thing to do. Edward just put his hand on my back and pushed me forward. I kept on walking, and we left the apartment. We could still hear Ben cursing at me until we left the building, which only seemed to delight Edward.

We walked to his car in total silence, but once we got in, we took one look at each other and broke into laughter. I'd rather laugh than cry at the situation. I suppose my father thought that by doing what he did I'd come back faster begging him for help. Why the duck he would think that was beyond me. He had made sure I'd become a lawyer; I could be one and take care of myself.

"So…"

I glanced at Edward; I think it was the first time I'd seen him hesitate. I decided to ask the question I had been wondering about ever since I had told him we were leaving.

"What do we need to do in order to leave, and how soon can we do it? I don't want to wait."

He was about to start the car but stopped the motion and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel,obviouslylost in thought. That only lasted a minute or two, then he started the car and answered me,

"I need to see someone; if things go the way I think they will, we can leave tomorrow."

"That fast?" Not that I wasn't happy about it, but he had a job and an apartment. Okay, an empty apartment, but still.

"You just told me you didn't want to wait."

"I don't. Tomorrow is fine with me, the sooner the better. I was just wondering about your place and your job."

"I'll call tomorrow and tell them I quit. I have a lot of vacation days owed to me anyway. One of the girls I work with will be thrilled to take my spot, and she's totally capable. As for my place, I think one of my friends may still want it."

"Wow, that's uhm, easy."

"I've lived in an empty apartment for the past three years just so I'd be able to leave when I wanted to. You really think I wouldn't have thought about all of the details?"

Oh, yeah, true. Wow. I was really leaving. With Edward.

*.*.*

I was so lost in thought that I didn't even ask where we were going. I was too hyper to really concentrate on anything; my thoughts were raging. I thought about my parents, but that didn't last long as I really didn't want to dwell on the crap they had pulled on me. I was leaving and everything was possible; I wondered where we'd go first, what we'd do. _And in which position_.Focus, darn it. _Oh, nice. _Not on 'that'.

There were so many possibilities that my head was spinning. But the truth was that I really didn't care where we went as long as we were going together. I didn't want to leave just for the sake of leaving, but wanted to do it because of whom I was doing it with; being alone would freak me out way too much, and I didn't know anyone else I'd love to go on an adventure with more than him. I thought of Bex then, and it broke my heart a little. But she'd be happy for us, I was sure.

Edward's voice brought me back from my musings.

"Are you going to get out of this car at some point?"

I looked around; he had parked the car in his neighborhood. I could see the bar where we had met, on the left.

"How long have we been here?"

"I don't know. Several minutes for sure. I was waiting for you to get out of your head but you didn't seem remotely close to doing it."

"Ah, yeah, I was uhm-"

He opened his door and got out of the car, then bent down to look at me. "Come on, I need a drink, then we'll go see my friend."

I quickly got out of the car as well and followed him inside the bar.

We sat down at a table near the window, and he glanced at me before he spoke, a serious look on his face.

"You're sure about this?"

"Totally. Why do you ask?"

"What was your inner conversation about, then?"

I laughed. _Ducking. _"My parents. Being thrilled about leaving with you. Bex. Things like that but no doubts about my decision."

He stared at me for a few seconds, then motioned to the waiter and ordered a whisky for himself. I had drank a lot while playing poker earlier, so I only ordered a beer.

We stayed silent. I looked out the window but I could feel him staring at me. It was unnerving, not in an unpleasant way, but I was getting used to him speaking his mind and right now I didn't really know what he was thinking. The waiter came back with our drinks and this time I paid for us.

"Okay, Edward. What's going on?" Wasn't this usually his line?

"I'm planning."

"Planning?"

"Planning. We're leaving tomorrow, Jasper. There's some planning to do." He shook his head and smiled.

"What kind of planning?"

"I have to pack."

"Your bag is already done, you said yourself you hadn't unpacked it from the last time."

He chuckled. "Well, half packed. So I'll have to finish anyway. Then there are questions that need answers, like where do we want to go first or at least where are we heading first, and what time do we want to leave? Do we pack food?"

Huh? "I hadn't thought about any of that."

He smiled. "I know. It's probably not that important, anyway. I think I'm nervous."

Not good. If Edward Masen was nervous then I was ducked, and not in a good way. I swallowed anxiously.

"Nervous?" Nice, Jasper. Apparently all I could do was repeat his words.

"Aren't you?"

"I, uhm, no." And it was true, I wasn't. Eager to be gone, check. Excited, check. But not nervous because I was with Edward; I had this feeling that together we could face anything. That sounded so lame.

Apparently, he didn't have the same feeling. Dang. What was I supposed to do now? What if he wasn't ready to leave or just not ready to leave with me? I hadn't really thought about that until now, because I knew he would never have agreed if he hadn't been sure about it. But I hadn't known him that long, maybe he -"

"Stop!"

"Huh? What?"

"Stop, Jasper. Yes, I'm nervous; no, it's not because I don't want to leave with you."

How did he know what I was thinking? "How did you know?"

"I speak Jasper's inner monologue fluently." He laughed at my surprised reaction. "It's written all over your face, Bruce."

I stayed silent a few seconds then asked, "Then why are you nervous?"

He shrugged. "I have wanted this for a long time, and now I'm finally doing it. It's making me nervous, but not in a bad way. I'm happy I'm finally going to do it, and I'm glad it's with you."

He took a sip of his whisky then smiled at me again.

So, he was happy he was leaving with me. And he was smiling. Dang, I was falling so hard it wasn't funny. Okay, we really had to get on with this leaving thing so I could finally take the time to, err, what? Woo him? I scoffed at myself. Well, do whatever it was I had to do in order to have him bend me over something. Now wasn't the time to be hard; uhm, was there really a good time not to be hard?

I shook my head and asked him,

"Where do you want to go first, then?"

"Montana."

Huh? Because…? I should probably ask him that. "Because?"

"I always wanted to do a clockwise trip and always thought I'd start there. No idea where exactly, though."

"Is there something specific you want to see?" I mean, Montana? Who wants to visit Montana?

"Nope. I just want to take my time." He sent me a little smirk which made me forget about everything but him slowly ah, ducking me, - while I was bent over something, of course.

I cleared my throat. "Uhm, ah, that's fine with me. Then we'll take..." I coughed again, "...our time in Montana." I loved Montana!

He burst into laughter. "Aww, Batman, at least I won't get bored on the road with you."

"Yeah, yeah, of course, please laugh it off." He kept teasing me so I came back to our conversation. "So, what are we going to do until it's time to leave?"

He became serious again, "As I said, I have to deal with the apartment. After that we'll go back to my place so I can pack. Then tomorrow, I'll call work and we'll buy some food for the road since we don't know when we'll be stopping. We'll need to get gas, too; and have to go see Bex."

"Of course we do. I won't leave without saying goodbye." I sighed. "She'll be thrilled but dang, I'll miss her."

He sent me a sad smile. "Yeah, I'll miss her, too. And I've only known her for two days."

We smiled at each other. He was probably thinking about some of Bex's antics today, like I was.

"And then we'll leave."

"Sounds good. So that means I'll be sleeping at your place again tonight." Not having a room anymore had its perks.

"Yeah. Hopefully you won't hump me again tonight."

I choked on my beer. _What?_ Oh, dang! I'd humped him last night? "What?" My voice cracked as I spoke which made him laugh even more.

"You did! I don't know what you where dreaming about but after trying a few times to get you to sleep on your side of the bed, I gave up. You really like to cuddle." He chuckled. "Then you started dry humping me."

Oh, darn. Of course I would do something like that. I was a cuddler, I knew that; loved it, wanted it, and needed it. But now I was humping people in my sleep? I facepalmed myself and groaned. "Sorry."

"It's okay, I pushed you." He locked eyes with me and added, "I wondered what you were dreaming about."

_You. Me. A hard surface. Bent over. Thrusting. Moaning. Thrusting. Your hands. My skin. Moaning_**- **

"Jasper?"

"Uhm, what?"

"You were gone again." He chuckled. "That good, huh?"

It could have been a smug remark, but no, he wasn't smug. I wasn't sure if he knew exactly what he was talking about but he knew enough. I had no idea what face I had made as I spaced out earlier but it must have been telling.

"You could say that, yes. But I'll try not to hump you again tonight." I hoped I wouldn't at least; molesting him in my sleep wasn't my idea of fun. I was lucky he found it funny and not shocking.

He finished his whisky, not reacting to what I had just said, but he commented on the road trip.

"I don't want to just drive through state after state. My original idea was to stay in one state for a while, you know, driving around, staying in one place as long as I felt like it before leaving again for another place. What do you think?"

"I have no problem with that. I haven't really thought about the 'hows' anyway."

It was true. Plus, I was set on doing it his way.

"Good. It's the best way to discover things. Well, I think so at least."

"I suppose you're right. You can't do that locked in a car, I guess."

"Exactly! Okay, not to sound too, ah, intrusive but how are you doing in the money department? I mean you just graduated and your father kicked you out of your place. I have no idea if you have any money of your own or if he did something about that, too."

"I have money. My father has always been generous, as long as I did what he wanted. Although, it was just another way to control me as he never offered me anything without strings attached; and I have always worked but not spent much." I let out a wry laugh. "I'm sure he closed my account –since he was the one who opened it- but it's not the one where my money is." Edward looked at me, surprised. "I opened another one in a different bank months ago, when I first decided to stop accepting his 'gifts' and transferred all of it but for a small amount."

"Devious. I like that."

I laughed. "I was already thinking about confronting him, and I knew it could turn ugly but that's not the main reason why I did it."

"Are you waiting for me to ask why you did it?"

I laughed. "No, not really."

"Okay."

He played with his empty glass and stared at me.

"You're really not going to ask me why I did it?"

"Nope."

"Why? Aren't you interested in knowing the answer?"

"Oh, I am. But you're going to tell me anyway."

Darn him. Of course he was right. "I was just fed up at the way he thought he had the right to check on how I spent my money, or bug me about things I bought that he didn't think were relevant**. **As I said, I didn't spend much, so I didn't want him to bully me each time I bought a tablature book for guitar, 'because it's useless' and ' you have no time to waste on stupid things like that'."

"You play the guitar?"

I laughed bitterly. "I _played_ the guitar. As you can see, we didn't leave my apartment with it." I shook my head. "Everything I bought when I only had that one bank account was gone from my place, so I believe he based his selectionon my bank statements; to him that meant he had paid for it. I actually bought it with the money I earned from a summer job.I paid for a lot of my things with the money I earned working, but he never acknowledged that."

"He had your bank statements?"

"Not that I knew of, but now there's no doubt he had copies."

He huffed but didn't add anything; it was clear he was pissed. I wasn't; I knew my father well enough, and I wouldn't cry over furniture and a guitar if it meant I was free to do what I wanted. But I couldn't deny that I was pleased with Edward's reaction. He was always ready to tease me, but he had proven many times over that he didn't like or want anyone hurting me. If that wasn't caring, I didn't know what was.

He checked his watch. "Let's go. Julian should be there by now."

"Julian?"

He answered me as he got up. "The friend I have to see."

I nodded and followed him outside. He pointed to the right and we started walking.

"Where is this friend exactly?"

"At a club."

I had stopped wondering about his replies, they were totally Edward. "At a club?"

"Yes."

Not the right question to get my answer, then.

"What club?" Maybe that would work better.

"The club I was at last night."

Oh. _That_ club. And I was supposed to be able to form a coherent sentence while –once again- picturing him masturbating in front of two people who were going at it?

He clapped my shoulder which made me jump. "What?"

"You're gone again, Bruce."

"Of course I am! My brain is full of porn right now, let me finish watching it."

He shook his head at me. "You're a strange man, Batman."

"Yes, but you like it."

He chuckled and started walking again. "I hope your porn is over soon. We'll be there in two minutes."

I couldn't concentrate on anything anyway. I wanted to know more about what had happened in the club yesterday, and I also wanted to ask him about his financial status. Of course the two weren't related, but brains were weird like that, right? Or was it just mine? I wondered how his brain worked. And I was having a conversation with myself again, only _he_ thought I was watching inner porn. Darn it!

I bumped into him when he stopped walking.

"Is your movie finished?"

"What? Uh, no. I mean, yes." Seriously, couldn't I just say there was no porn anymore?

"Good. Come on."

We entered the club and were assaulted by loud music. There weren't many people there yet, but it wasn't empty either. Edward headed straight for the bar and was greeted by one of the barmen. I joined him, and lifted two fingers when he ordered a vodka; seconds later there were two glasses in front of us.

I looked around. It seemed really laid back compared to some of the 'frilly' gay clubs I had been to before. I had just put down my glass when I was grabbed and swiftly turned around. Before I could even comprehend what was happening, not-so-foreign lips were on mine, and hands were on my butt. I hoped the lips and hands belonged to the same person. I pushed at the guy who had pressed himself up against me, until lips, hands and body were at a respectable distance.

Edward had stepped a little closer to me, probably ready to defend me in case it was needed.

"Jasper!"

Oh, great. He had always had a problem with respecting my personal space. I wiped my mouth not so subtly before replying to him. "I thought the kissing part was over when we broke up, Matthew." I glanced at Edward, but he was only nursing his vodka. I knew he was listening, though.

"But you're here! And I'm here!"

"And Edward's here!" I added in the same high pitched voiced he had used. He was clearly drunk, one of the many reasons I had left him months ago. I had nothing against being drunk, unless it was a perpetual state. There were enough unhealthy people surrounding me at the time - I didn't need to add any more to the list.

He used a whiny voice to ask, "Who cares about Edward?"

At his name, Edward piped up to answer before I could. "I care about Edward."

I looked from him to Matt and chuckled before adding, "Me, too."

Then he seemed to think he'd get his way by putting his arm around my neck and pulling me to him. That hurt a lot. I don't think he was aware of his strength. It was like being held in a headlock by the high school bully all over again. Not my fondest memory.

"Are you alright or do you need some help here, Bruce?"

"I-I'm fine. I'm okay. I'll deal with him, no worries." Well, I hoped it would be okay. I had no idea what Matt was trying to achieve, but he was really ticking me off. I was able to turn my head a little and looked sideways at Edward, who was clearly trying to restrain himself from stepping in.

I ended up crushing Matt's right foot with mine as hard as I could, which made him howl and lose his hold on me. I quickly moved back to stand next to Edward, before draining the rest of my vodka in one gulp.

Matt tried to get closer to me again but Edward put one hand on his chest before turning to me. "Do you mind?"

I motioned to him to go ahead and he looked back at Matt. "Okay, that's enough. You leave him alone. Now."

"Or? Are you going to beat me up, eh?"

"No. But I'll make sure you're out of here before you can say another word."

Just then one of the bouncers appeared, probably called by the barman Edward knew, who had seen everything. Matt lifted his hands in surrender and took a few steps back before he turned around and walked away.

"That's an ex of yours?"

"Yes. And thank you."

"I can see how his charms would be hard to resist." He turned towards the bar. "Another drink?"

"Please," I sighed. As if he didn't have enough reasons to find me strange already. Of course we'd run into Matt.

"Oh, come on Batman. Who doesn't have at least one stupid ex?"

"Well, not me that's for sure." The barman handed me another vodka and I drank half of it straight away.

"If it makes you feel better, I don't either." He clinked his glass to mine before draining it. "So when did you end things with that extremely charming man?"

"Uhm, something like eight months ago. We haven't seen each other since, but it's obvious he hasn't changed one bit."

"Because he was always like that? How long did you stay with him?"

I shrugged. "About five months. We didn't see each other often; I had too much studying to do, anyway. And when I did see him he was always partying and err, happy. It was a good change for me." I chuckled. "It took me a while to understand that his drunken state wasn't solely due to partying, and that I had actually never seen him sober . You know, he used to tell me, "But it's a party, Jasper! Everybody drinks!"

"Yeah, but everybody doesn't get loaded every single time."

"Yep. Took me five months to realize that. I'm an idiot."

"No, you're not. Come on, my friend Julian is here."

Edward had ordered two more drinks for us, and we took them before joining My-Friend-Julian at a table in a quieter area. He was a handsome guy with a bright smile and deep blue eyes. Of course, my first reaction was not to like My-Friend-Julian because who knows what _kind_ of friend he was to Edward. Then I mentally slapped myself because I was acting like a five year-old. We were standing next to the table - which was covered in packets of lube and condoms - when he spoke.

"Edward! Are you finally here for my psychoanalysis of the latest Gaga song?" Then he eyed me appreciatively and added, "Probably not. Are you here for more? And did you bring me a play date?"

Edward scoffed before answering him. "Certainly not. Jasper, this is Julian. He was the one fucking the other one last night, while I watched."

Oh. Maybe I liked this Julian after all. He took my arm and made me sit next to him while Edward took the chair across from of us.

"Then what brings you here with the eye candy." He winked at me, waiting for Edward's answer.

"I'm leaving."

Julian's head shot up. "Well, it's about damn time! Please tell me your place is still mine while you're gone."

"It is, if you want it." Edward looked at me, smiling, and shrugged.

"I do! Oh fuck, that's great!" He became serious again. "I'm happy for you but, I'm even happier for myself!" He guffawed at his words, and I frowned. Edward answered my silent question.

"Julian lives with, um, a 'special' roommate."

"Special roommate? The guy is so weird he makes me look normal!" He turned to me and in a dramatic tone, said "He thinks he's Evolution's missing link."

"The what?"

"The missing link! Between monkey and man, or is it between fish and men, or whatever link evolution is missing if it's missing any. Who cares? The guy is a wacko and he thinks he is Mother Nature's son. _Literally_."

"That's, uh, weird."

"Weird is putting it very nicely."

Edward was laughing his ass off in front of me, clearly having heard the story before. "Tell him about the bathroom."

Julian groaned and made a disgusted face before speaking. "He does mushrooms. Grows them everywhere. Our bathroom looks like a huge fungus and smells like one, too."

I couldn't hold back my laughter at his words. Just picturing it was hilarious but Julian's expression added to it; he looked appalled and fascinated at the same time.

Edward chuckled. "Actually, the guy discovered he was the missing link the second time he did mushrooms, right?"

Julian nodded and turned to me. "See? He thinks it's funny because he's not the one living with my roommate."

"Aww, don't be like that, Julian. Tell Jasper about the divorce, I think it's my favorite part. Wait, or is it the green part?"

I looked from one to the other, trying to understand what they were talking about.

"Okay, fine. After finding out that he was 'Mother Nature's son'," Julian made air quotes while speaking, "he decided to divorce his parents because 'they' weren't his parents anymore since Mother Nature was. He had to 'stay true to her', that's what he told me. Can you believe that?"

By then I was wondering if they weren't trying to pull my leg, and I looked at Edward, who was still chuckling. He shook his head and added, "It's all true."

Julian stared at me. "I swear on my favorite butt plug that it's true. I don't think anyone could make up something like that, anyway."

Wow. "Dang, no wonder you want to move out. What is it about the green Edward mentioned?"

"Did you say 'dang'?" He looked at Edward then. "Did he say 'dang'?"

Edward snorted. "Well, sometimes he says darn or duck, too."

"Duck? Why would you say 'duck'?"

"Because ducks are scary!" I didn't feel too self-conscious about my fright of ducks while talking about a guy thinking he was the missing link. "Plus I'd rather use duck than the 'other one'." And I like, err, ducking, why would I make a swear word out of it?

"You're scared of ducks?" Julian and Edward both spoke at the same time.

"Yes, I am. I don't like them. When you've finished laughing your ass off, maybe you'll explain the green thing?"

"Oh, yeah. He only wears green. No really, you're afraid of ducks?"

I should have kept that to myself. Another thing Edward would never let me forget. But I _hated_ ducks! Huh? "Why green?"

"To be one with his mother of course. Everything he wears is green, from his shirts to his shoes and his underwear. He talks all the time about communion with nature and weird shit like that. I swear he's the poster boy against drugs. I stopped smoking weed because of him! I was afraid I'd discover I was another missing link and start behaving as crazy as him."

Edward was obviously trying to keep a straight face while staring at me and I was pretty sure it had little to do with the crazy roommate and everything to do with my fright of ducks. I ignored him and asked Julian, "He was already like that when you met him?"

"Yes. And I noticed he only wore green but I don't know, I thought he was Irish, not crazy."

I looked at Edward then. "Being afraid of ducks doesn't sound weird, compared to that."

He shook his head. "No Bruce, still weird."

"Yeah, Jasper, they're all cute and err, fluffy"

Edward glanced at Julian. "And you forgot non-threatening."

Darn it!"That's where you're both wrong, ducks are evil creatures. That's all I have to say."

"Evil creatures?" Edward shook his head, his eyes locked on mine and mouthed **'**ducks?'. Then spoke to Julian. "Anyway, about the apartment, we're leaving tomorrow morning. The rent is paid for this month, so you have some time to sort things out."

Julian snorted. "As if I care about sorting things out. I'll call some friends to help me move out and I'll be sleeping at your place tomorrow night. The missing link's ass be damned!"

Edward shrugged. "Do what you want; we'll probably be gone by ten anyway."

"Best news ever. No offence, guys. Fuck, I need to celebrate. So Jasper, any way I can convince you that letting me fuck you while he watches is a great idea?"

I laughed at his question and shook my head as my only answer. Little did he know that I wouldn't be opposed to the opposite. But he started talking again before I could add anything.

"No? And if he doesn't watch? I don't think anyone has complained about my sexual prowess yet."

"I've certainly never complained." That comment came from a dark haired guy who had just sat down next to Edward. "I'm Stefan. Don't listen to him; he's right, though."

Edward pointed to the new guy and said, "That would be the one Julian fucked." Then he pointed to me. "That's Jasper, he's afraid a ducks."

Stefan guffawed. "Well, that's ok, last time I checked there was no duck in Julian's pants. There's a big dick, though."

Julian put his hand on my neck, and stroked it as well as my right shoulder as he spoke close to my ear. "See? I have people who'll vouch for me." He leaned back and smiled, before turning to Edward and Stefan. He quickly removed his hand from my neck at the expression on Edward's face.

He looked at Stefan, laughing. "Someone's jealous." They both stared at Edward, who shook his head at their taunting.

"Of course I am. I like Jasper; I'm not thrilled that you're hitting on him."

Cue brain freeze. I knew it! My brain started going a thousand miles a minute. Dang it! Only Edward could just admit things like that with no problem, when all I could do was talk to myself in my _head._ And of course, I was at a loss for what to say to that. Darn, I knew it_! I said that already, didn't I_?

Stefan chuckled and asked, "What is he doing?"

"Don't worry; it's a normal behavior for him. He's having an inner conversation with himself about what I just said." Edward chuckled as I gave him the stink eye. "Oh, come on, Batman, you know I'm right."

Julian and Stefan laughed at his words. Then Stefan asked me, "Is he always like this with you?"

I nodded. "It's a normal behavior for him. We're at the foreplay stage." I picked up one of the lube packs from the table and threw it at Edward as I spoke.

He caught it and put it in his pocket, grinning.

"Damn right we are."

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><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<strong>_


	7. You can bet on it, Batman!

_**Thanks to Dariachenowith who took time to pre read during her vacation, and to Chrissy who took the time to pre read instead of getting drunk. Thanks to WendyK, the first thing she did this morning was to finish beta'ing this chap because once again I sent it to her too late.**_

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><p><strong>Thank YOU readers and reviewers! You're so witty, clever and wonderful in your reviews, I loooooooove it! I also feel the need to steal your best lines so a huge thanks to Kroseph and KM525<strong>** for ****letting me use some of their words.**

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><p><em>Disclaimer: I don't own Jasper's prostate. Yet.<em>

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><p><em><strong>Edward<strong>_

"Come on Jasper, we were supposed to be out of here an hour ago!"

_Lesson #1 for the day: don't take Jasper with you to the supermarket._

It was supposed to be a quick run to buy food and a few other things to help us get ready for our road trip. We hadn't woken up as early as I thought we would and we were already late going to see Bex. Jasper had run around my place after his shower not knowing exactly what to do. There wasn't much to do in the first place. I had packed everything I needed while he had been sleeping last night. The only thing we needed to do was to shower, drink our coffee and load the car. But Jasper had been too hyper, or hung over to see that.

"Jasper, I'm going to the register," I sighed, and left him trying to figure out what kind of hand wipes to buy to go with the _twenty other packs_ we already had.

He didn't answer me, focused as he was on the task at hand. I shook my head as I walked away; I was lusting after a guy with a duck phobia, a weird fascination for hand sanitizer and a propensity for holding conversations with himself.

He joined me at the register with another full grocery cart. He had already filled the one I was now emptying. I stared at him, baffled.

"You know we're buying things for a road trip, not to help a family of twelve survive a nuclear holocaust, right?"

"You were the one saying 'we have to plan'. Well, I'm planning."

I laughed. "Yes, Bruce. Because we need thirty-five different packs of hand sanitizer to survive on the road, and there won't be any stores on the way because they're all in Seattle. The rest of America is just one wild jungle where people hunt their food with spears and never clean their hands."

"Hey! You can never have too much hand sanitizer. Now, let's pay for all of this so we can go see Bex."

I didn't answer. I had been telling him to hurry up more times than I could count. Once we were done at the checkout, we loaded the groceries in the car and got in.

"Seriously, I'm never taking you to a supermarket again."

He turned to me, wide-eyed. "And why is that?"

"Did you look at what you bought?"

He huffed. "Of course I did! And everything will be helpful, you'll see."

I snorted at his words. "Yeah, I'm sure we'll need all of those trashy magazines."

"Driving for hours can be long and boring, Edward. I'll be able to divert you once my oh so witty conversation runs dry. It's my duty as your co-pilot."

I chuckled, then became serious again. "Wait. Are you saying that I'm going to be the one driving?"

"Uhm, no, I'll drive, too. I think."

"You think? Oh, you'll be driving, too. Don't confuse me with Alfred, Batman."

He didn't reply so I glanced at him, Jasper was clearly having one of his conversations with himself so I snapped my fingers in front of his face.

"What now, Bruce?"

"Kinky butler sex!"

I guffawed. "What?"

He squirmed in his seat and coughed. "Uh, nothing, sorry."

"Oh no! You have to explain what 'kinky butler sex' is exactly."

"You're the one who put that in my head with your Alfred talk!"

"Did you just picture me as Alfred, having 'kinky sex' with you, Jasper?"

"Of course I did!" He huffed and looked out the window.

"Interesting."

He perked up then. "You think?"

"Kind of. I'm not Alfred, though."

"Well, I'm Bruce Wayne, I can't be Alfred too."

I parked near the entrance to the nursing home and stopped the car. "This conversation is not over. I'd be really interested in knowing what 'kinky butler sex' is in your mind."

"I'm sure you won't let me forget."

I clapped him on the back. "You can bet on it, Batman."

*.*.*

Bex was sitting near the window when we walked into her room. Jasper had called her this morning, while I was informing my boss that he wouldn't be seeing me again anytime soon. Jasper hadn't wanted to tell her on the phone why we wanted to see her; maybe that had been the wrong decision. She looked worried.

"You!" She got up as she spoke, walking slowly towards us. "Okay, you don't seem traumatized, so I guess it's not bad news." She hugged us both and sat down again.

"Sorry, Bex. I-"

"No, no, boy. Sorry, my wrinkled ass. You can't call and say, 'We need to see you as soon as possible' and hang up. Do you want to kill me?"

Shit, he didn't. "You hung up on her?"

"Well, I think I may have been a bit too excited. And I wasn't thinking all that straight; you saw what state I was in this morning."

I snorted. "Sadly, I did."

"What state was he in this morning? Although I can already tell it wasn't a 'thoroughly fucked' state, so I'm not sure I'm that interested in knowing." She crossed her arms waiting for one of us to reply.

"Ah, yes. No fucking." That would have required Jasper to be awake.

"I know!" She turned to Jasper. "Did you tell him he smelled like rubber and dust this time? Because if it didn't work the first night it won't work now, boy."

"What? No!" He glanced at me for confirmation and I shook my head. "I didn't!"

She squinted her eyes, perplexed. Then she wagged a finger at me. "Why isn't he sure about what he said?" Then to Jasper, "I saw that little glance, you know."

I laughed and sat down across from her. "Feel free to answer, Jasper." I was curious to see how he was going to explain that.

He took a seat next to me and hung his head. "I, uh, may have drank a bit too much last night."

It was clear he didn't mean it in a 'I partied too much' way, and as always, Bex caught on to that. "Tell me what happened, boy."

"When we left here yesterday, Edward drove me to my place. Only it wasn't my place anymore. My father had sent movers in while we were here playing poker and there was next to nothing left of my stuff; and I didn't have an apartment anymore, either."

He leaned back, his head hitting the backrest on his chair; I supposed he was remembering what happened. He didn't seem upset about it anymore, but I didn't think he felt great about it, either.

"I swear I'll kick your father's balls until they are up high enough that he can use them as tonsils!" Bex could go from looking nice to scary faster than anyone I knew. She was fuming. The mental picture I had of her beating up Jasper's father was highly amusing. It made me wish she'd hunt him down.

"No, it's alright Bex. I don't care."

"Maybe, boy. But you got drunk over it."

"Ah, yes. Uh, no. I didn't get drunk because of that."

She stared at the both of us, obviously trying to make sense of things on her own. She must have finally given up because she shook her head and replied, "Fine, boy, I'll bite. Tell me what made you drink like that. Then maybe you can explain to me why you got drunk instead of letting Edward fuck you now that he, finally, looks like he wants to do it."

I snorted. Bex was the only one I knew, aside from me, who told it like it was. I really loved it. No wonder Jasper could handle me, he got a lot of practice with her. That didn't keep him from reacting and becoming flustered from time to time; although I had to admit I liked seeing him like that.

"Hey! Not everything is about ducking, Bex."

She snorted and looked me in the eye. "Edward?"

"Yes, Bex?"

"If Jasper had been sober last night, in your bed and willing, would you have turned him down?"

"Last night? No, I wouldn't have, Bex."

Jasper groaned next to me. "Seriously?"

I nodded to answer him and he moaned.

"Dang alcohol! And you can't keep saying things like that!"

"Why? She asked me a question, I answered."

He looked at Bex, pointing a finger at me. "See? That's why I got drunk. And I didn't drink all that much by the way, but the poker didn't help my case."

Bex seemed baffled**. **"You got drunk because he admitted he wanted to fuck you?"

"No! He admitted to being jealous that his friend was hitting on me because he liked me, and that we were at the foreplay stage!" He spoke in a tone that made me feel as if what I had said was shocking.

Bex looked like a mystery had finally been unveiled. "Oh, okay then. I get it."

Ah, she knew Jasper so well.

"You're going to fry his brain one day, you know?"

I stared at Jasper. "Would you rather I pretended that I don't like you and played coy, so you could bang your head against the wall, wondering whether I did or not? I'm not sorry that I don't play games, Bruce. And I like that you don't either, so get over it."

I wasn't going to start lying when something bothered me, and really, Julian hitting on Jasper _had_ bothered me.

He refrained from smiling, then answered. "Well, I like it, too."

Bex was watching us with a playful smile. "What happened last night, then?"

"Once we left his place, we went to see a friend of mine at a club. Oh, I met Matthew last night, by the way."

"Lucky you. I never met him but from what Jasper told me, he's a real piece of work. How was he, boy?"

Jasper glanced at me and grimaced. "Drunk, as always. He tried some weird mating ritual on me, or something like that."

I didn't like that much, either.

"You're frowning, Edward." Bex grinned knowingly.

"I didn't like his attitude towards Jasper. Plus, he said he didn't care about Edward."

She smiled. "I care about Edward."

"Exactly. That's what I told him!" I knew there was a reason I loved Bex.

Jasper sat up straight and muttered, "Hey, I told him that, too."

"Yes, boy, but everybody already knows you care about Edward."

He sagged back and huffed. "Yeah, yeah, right." Then he eyed me. "You already know I care about you?"

"Ah, I know you lust after me. But, hey, it's always nice to hear." Jasper was wearing his emotions on his sleeve and I'd have to be blind not to notice his growing interest. But as I had told him earlier, I liked it. More than that, I wanted it. I had never been attracted to people who played those games, whether it was because they did it on purpose or because they were too self-conscious. It didn't change anything for me.

He groaned and muttered, "You're right, I have no game."

I couldn't not laugh at that. "And that's a great thing in my book."

"So, what was that about your friend hitting on Jasper?"

"Julian -my friend- is very, ah, enthusiastic. Especially last night, about Jasper."

"But he made Julian stop, because he _likes_ me." Jasper wiggled his eyebrows at me, then did the same thing as he looked at Bex. Seriously?

"Are you having a seizure, Bruce?"

"Yes, boy. Are you alright?"

"Huh, no. Sorry. I can be twelve sometimes."

"Uh huh. Well anyway, Jasper drank from then on. All that alcohol made him fall asleep." I looked at him pointedly. "Again. I woke him so we could go to my place, and before leaving the club he stole all the packets of lube and condoms that were on the table, shouting, "Edward is going to duck me soon!"

I laughed as I remembered how he was last night, putting all of the packets in his pockets, and mine, saying that since the lube was the same size and shape as the condoms we could have some on us all the time and duck everywhere. Well he said it like "ev-ry –wheeeeeere".

Yeah that wasn't much of a turn on, but it was fun to watch. It also kept a lot of men at bay; they all knew he was going to get ducked by an 'Edward' and when one of them would say he could do it, too, Jasper would just shake his head telling them they weren't 'Edward'. Stefan and Julian watched, fascinated, as he dodged all of the propositions coming his way, and he was getting hit on a lot.

He had also tried to give his old car to Stefan, who didn't want it once I described it to him, but agreed to keep the keys anyway and use it if he needed to.

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Don't remind me, please."

"Oh, my. Even drunk you still say 'duck'?"

"Yes, because ducks are evil, aren't they Jasper?

He huffed and hit me in the chest, "I _knew_ I should have kept quiet."

I shrugged and smiled but didn't answer him.

"Not that you have to answer, but I'm curious. What prompted the change?" She stared at me with a small smile on her lips.

"Change?"

She nodded. "Yes. I see the way you look at him; he'll certainly be getting _ducked_ soon."

"Oh, dang! Please, keep talking about me as if I wasn't here, I have no problem with that."

I patted his knee. "We know you're here, Jasper."

He swatted my hand away and replied, "Sure thing, Alfred."

_Shouldn't have said that._

Bex shook her head. "Alfred?"

"Oh yeah, Jasper wants to have kinky butler sex, whatever that is." I laughed at the face he made and Bex's laugh joined mine.

He groaned next to me and put his head between his knees. "I can't believe it."

She was still chuckling as she uttered, "You boys really need to get laid."

"I know."

Jasper stayed silent, so I was the only one to answer Bex, but she didn't need him to say anything. She had, after all, spent the last few days telling everyone who wanted to hear it that Jasper wanted some action from me, and Jasper himself hadn't been hiding it, either.

"So, you never answered my question. Or are you dodging it, Edward?"

I snorted. "It's a mix of different things, Bex. One of them being the reason we're here this morning."

I felt Jasper straighten in his seat at my words. I glanced at him; he had linked his hands together on his knee, which was bouncing up and down.

"We're leaving." He glanced at me and I took it from there. I didn't think my help was needed but we were leaving together, after all.

"We were at his place yesterday, and when we saw everything was gone-"

"Asshole. Not you, boy, your father." She motioned for me to continue.

"Jasper had the idea that we should leave for a while, on a road trip. Probably a year, maybe more, we don't know yet." I sighed. "That's something I have always wanted to do and he knew it."

Bex had a thoughtful look on her face. It didn't last long; a wide grin took over and she stood up. "That's great news. You both need to live a little!"

She hugged me, then Jasper; they were still hugging when he asked,

"You're sure you'll be alright, Bex?"

"Shut up, boy. I'm so proud of you for having guts, don't spoil it with nonsense."

"No, but I mean-"

"I want to hear _his_ answer now." She made him sit next to her and kept holding his hand.

"Uh, what answer?"

I laughed. Unlike Jasper, Bex never forgot anything.

"The answer to my 'what changed' question. Shouldn't you be more interested in knowing, too, boy?"

He seemed to think about it for a second, then replied, "No. It's because of my charm, of course, what else could it be?"

I sighed, then answered honestly. "He said, 'We're leaving.' "

"And?" I had to chuckle at that. She tried not to laugh as Jasper frowned, not getting where I was going with this.

"Instant boner." In one point three seconds he got me to do the road trip I'd always wanted to do but had never had the guts to do. Can you blame me?

"What?" Jasper was clearly flustered by my words... I guess holding your friend's hand while having a porn scenario in your head and a hard-on to prove it, wasn't the best situation to be in. He really didn't need much to picture me or us doing, well, whatever we were doing in his head.

"Having a problem there, Bruce?" Bex shook with laughter, while Jasper continued to look at me, wide-eyed.

"So then you decided I was right about you fucking him?"

"Well, I never thought you were wrong, Bex. I just wasn't convinced it was a good idea." I paused and pointed to Jasper. "He still isn't moving. You know he's picturing porn or whatever, right now."

She chuckled. "Yes."

"And you're still holding his hand."

"Well, I'm hoping I'd get a freaky little vibe or something from him. I need more porn in my life!"

Right then Jasper blurted out, "One day you're going to make me cream my pants, you know?"

I guffawed at his tone and timing. That would be fun. At the same time Bex shouted, "He's alive!"

"I'd be jealous, Bruce. I've never achieved a handsfree."

His eyes started glazing over again but then he refocused. "Yeah, well I don't think it could be considered a handsfree, more of an embarrassment. Can we please change the topic?"

She stroked his hand, chuckling, then asked, "When are you leaving?"

"We came to say goodbye, Bex. Our road trip starts when we leave this place." Jasper hugged her and added, "I'm going to miss you so much. You're like-"

"If you say I'm like your mother, boy, I'll kick your ass so hard you won't be able to sit for the first thousand miles."

"What? No! That's so sick, Bex. You're my best friend, and as ridiculous as it is to call anyone my bff, you're it! I'll miss your teasing and the poker nights."

"I can still tease you on the phone, you know."

"Yeah, I know, Bex."

No need to add that it wasn't the same thing. Shit, I was going to miss her, too. I sent them a sad smile.

"So, you're all set then?"

I snorted. "You could say that." She looked at me, curious, so I added, "Jasper has his own idea of what planning for a road trip includes."

"Not again! I told you we're going to need everything I bought." He tried to cross his arms over his chest but he couldn't manage it while holding Bex's hand, so he ended up in an awkward position.

"Even the five emergency space blankets on top of the two arctic sleeping bags we already have?"

"Okay, maybe not them, but at least we won't freeze to death."

"Yes, of course, that makes total sense, Jasper." I shook my head, and Bex laughed at my teasing. I looked at her and asked, "Have you ever been to a supermarket with him?"

"You mean, did I know he had the urge to buy half of the store?"

Ah, yes. Clearly she had. "Yes! My car is so full of junk right now."

"It's not junk. Don't listen to him, Bex"

She patted his hand but didn't say anything, clearly not believing what he had just said. That made me chuckle, and he looked at us both before huffing,

"Do you need anything before we go?"

"I'm alright, Edward. I want you both to have fun, and to send me postcards. Or even better, pictures of cocks! I will hang them on my walls. That will scare away all the stuck -up bitches they call nurses."

Jasper laughed, but she seemed serious. I had no doubts she would do it.

"You'd better leave now, or I'll cry like an old hag. That won't be a pretty sight, boys, I can tell you."

She stood up and Jasper followed so he could hug her again. She whispered something in his ear that made him laugh, and he nodded before answering in kind. It was an intimate moment, and I turned my gaze to the floor. After a little while he stepped back and walked to the bathroom.

Bex hugged me and whispered, "Promise me he'll get thoroughly fucked. He deserves it." I chuckled and nodded, holding her closer. She stroked my shoulder and added, "I'm happy for you two."

I kissed her on the cheek, and held her tightly one last time before releasing her. Jasper did the same now that he was back, and we left the room. Okay, this wasn't my idea of a happy start, but I was sure it would get better.

I could see that those goodbyes had been hard on Jasper, and I put an arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer to me as we walked out. A second later we stopped and look back when she called our names, only her head was sticking out the door as she spoke loudly, "And remember, boys. When in doubt, use lube!"

We heard a few gasps and she winked at us before closing the door. Jasper looked at me and we burst out laughing but it didn't last long. We stayed silent until we got in the car; I was going to start it, but I stopped and looked at him first. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah. Yes. It's strange, you know. And I don't want you to think I'm anything but thrilled to go on this road trip with you."

I nodded. It hadn't even crossed my mind. Bex had been a big part of his life up to now. I was also sure that without her support and friendship he wouldn't be the person he was now. Not after the way his parents had acted all these years. I would guess that the same was true when it came to her.

He was sad, and I didn't want to shrug it off or act like it was nothing, so I stayed silent to let him process what he wanted to say.

"I'm fine. Saying goodbye was harder than I thought it would be, that's all."

There was nothing to say so I kept silent. He did, too. It lasted for a few minutes, then he took a deep breath and said, "Let's go."

Which we did.

"This is when you open the map of Montana, Bruce." We could figure out what our next stop would be, since we still hadn't already decided on it. It would also be good for him to take his mind off of Bex.

From the corner of my eyes I saw him looking at me, surprised. "What? Why?"

"Because then we'll know exactly where to go. Look in the glovebox."

He opened it and took out all of the maps I had put there. "Why do we need all of these maps?"

"To know where we're going, Bruce. As I already said."

"Seriously, who needs maps with NavSat and Google?"

"People who don't know where they're going, Jasper." He frowned so I kept talking. "You need to enter an address or a place to get directions to it. What would I even enter right now? Montana? I already know how to get there, thank you."

"Yeah, okay, that sounds logical."

He opened the map the map, hiding half of the windshield from me. "Have you ever read a map, Jasper?"

"Not that I can remember, why?"

"Well, don't open it fully, first because it takes way too much room. I can't see the road clearly," I glanced down, "or have accessto the gearshift for that matter. And we're not going to drive for ten hours today, so stick to the side of the map showing what's closest to us."

He nodded and started to fold the map back into place, with no success. "Darn it! It's impossible to fold it back the way it was!"

I tried not to laugh and kept my eyes on the road, but I could still see him fighting with the paper. After a few minutes he uttered a 'dang', and after another try, he spoke.

"Okay. Done!"

I glanced his way to see him holding part of the map, the rest of it crumpled into a ball on his knees. I burst into laughter and he soon joined me.

"Hey, I did what I could. I hate that it's all crumpled but I didn't have a choice. When we stop I'll try to put it back the right way." He chuckled and added, "Bex wouldn't believe it. My stuff is always so neat and tidy. She'd probably tease me about it, though."

That made him stop laughing. Damn it! Alright.

"Ah, fuck it." I made a U-turn and headed for the city again. We hadn't gotten far, anyway.

Jasper's eyes grew wide at my sudden maneuver, but once the surprise wore off, he shouted, "Fudge a Duck! Are we doing what I think we're doing?"

_Fudge a duck?_ "We are. 'Fudge a duck'? Really?"

He waved a hand dismissively. "You took me by surprise." He looked at me as if I had grown two heads. He was the one saying weird things, it should be the other way around.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Bruce?"

"I think I fell a little in love with you right there, Alfred."

He hadn't stopped staring at me while speaking. I smiled at his words. "Look who's the one using blunt honesty, now."

"Well, you were right, no need to hide or play games."

I drove as fast as I could, and soon we were back at the nursing home parking lot. "You're okay with this, right?"

"Oh, yeah! I didn't think of it before because it never was an option in my mind, but now I feel dumb for not having considered it earlier."

Good. I didn't want to make the decision for him. Road tripping with Jasper would be great on its own, but the idea of having her with us was even better. When he mentioned how she would have teased him about the map, it hit me. I wanted her with us to tease him, well, us. And it's not like she had anything better to do where she was. "She could still refuse, you know that?"

"We'll have to use our best argument, Edward."

"Which is?"

He clapped my shoulder before answering, "You'll see," and got out of the car.

We ran to her room and knocked a few times before opening the door. Bex was still sitting in the same place she had been this morning, looking out the window. She stood up swiftly. "What the hell are you still doing here? You're never going to get anywhere if you never go, boys."

Jasper walked to her closet, took out a bag and gave it her. "Put whatever you want to take with you in this."

"Boy, I won't play dumb and ask why you want me to do that. But, why do you want me to come?"

Jasper and I looked at each other then, and I answered, "Because we want you with us."

"That doesn't make any sense, Edward."

"You have to come with us. Please, Bex." I wondered if begging was Jasper's 'best argument' but he motioned to me to let him do the talking. I was curious to see how he'd convince her, so I just sat down and watched.

"Boy, that's stupid."

"You'll get bored here."

"I need to pee often. You'll have to keep stopping."

"Yeah, that's not true, Bex You go to the toilet less than I do." He went back to his arguments. "You hate it here."

"You won't be able to get or give road head." _Now, that was a good argument_.

"We'll do it when you're asleep." _Yeah, not so much._

"That's foul, boy. You could at least do it when I'm awake."

"Now, _that's_ foul, Bex. And I was kidding." He sighed and was thoughtful for a minute. "We'll play poker, you'll be able to hit on men, and tease me relentlessly. Plus you'll be able to tell Edward he has to duck me until he does, then I guess you'll ask him to duck me more. Win -win situation for me."

Said like that, I guess she couldn't say no. Then he winked at me and added, "And you'll have more opportunity to see cocks than you would locked in this place."

"You've always known how to talk to me, boy." She opened the bag and started filling it. He was right; he did have the best argument.

We helped her pack, at least I did. Jasper kept asking if she wanted to take the most random things, and each time she'd say no. It was done quickly. She didn't have much in her room to start with.

I took her bag and we left the room. One of the nurses stopped us as we passed the front desk.

"You have to sign the register, so we know where you're staying and when you're coming back."

Bex took the pen from her hand and started scribbling on the paper. I took a look at what she wrote and smiled. She had written 'road trip' in the address box and 'never' under the date of return. Her antics didn't seem to amuse the nurse.

"You have to fill it out properly. When will you be back?"

Bex put the pen down. "I won't. Even if I come back to Seattle**, **it won't be to this nursing home."

The nurse scrutinized us, before speaking in a snotty tone. "Well, this isn't how it's done. You can't just leave like that. We have to fill out the release papers. They have to be signed by the director," she sneered, "And he's not here right now."

I wanted to butt in but Bex put a hand on my arm. "I don't give a shit about how it's done. Since this isn't a prison, I'll walk away when I see fit." The nurse took a step forward but Bex lifted her hand. "Don't think about stopping me or I'll kick your ass." Then she pointed at Jasper and me. "Those two are way too gentlemanly to do it, but I can assure you I don't have an ounce of lady in me. You'll be on the floor before you have the time to realize it."

That seems to convince the nurse. She huffed, and I wondered for a second if she was going to stomp her foot. Then Jasper piped up. "We'll call you later so you can send us the papers to sign."

Bex shook her head at Jasper and pushed him towards the door. He looked at me over his shoulder. "What? It was the right thing to say, wasn't it?"

"Yes, Bruce." He kept walking and stepped outside. I stayed behind to put her bag in the trunk and watched them banter as they got in the car. Well, this promised to be a fun trip.

I got in the car, too and started it as Bex spoke.

"So, let me get this straight." She pointed at Jasper. "You're Bruce." Then she pointed at me, "And you're Alfred."

"I'm Alfred?" I looked at her in the rear-view mirror, but it was Jasper who replied.

"You are! You've been driving me everywhere after all."

I sighed. "I guess I'd rather be Alfred than Robin. What's your point, Bex?"

"Well, I needed to know who was who. Now, boy, what does 'kinky butler sex' consist of exactly?"

I snorted at the same time as Jasper groaned.

"Yes, Bruce. Enlighten me. I wouldn't want to disappoint when the time comes."

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><p><strong><em>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<em>**


	8. That's a shame, Batman

_**A huge thank you to Chrissy and Dariachenowith for being so amazing. WendyK is the queen of all betas (at least she's my queen), she always finds a way to save the day.**_

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><p><strong>A huge thanks to YOU! Once again you were incredible! I apologize to the ones I haven't replied yet (I will). I blame my sexcapade weekend! It's also the reason why this chap is posted one day late. Last week I wrote in my AN that your cleverness made me want to steal your lines: 'Fudge a duck' comes from a review I got from Kroseph, and "E he's Alfred, he's driving J everywhere after all" was written by KM525. Both fitted so well in last chap I had to have J saying it.**

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><p><em>Disclaimer: uh no, I haven't slept in 38 hours so my brain is fried. See? I don't own a brain. or twilight.<em>

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><p><em><strong>Jasper<strong>_

We'd been driving for a few hours, and still hadn't decided where to go first. Various topics of conversation came and went, but Edward and Bex always came back to one thing. I think I'd heard them come up with almost everything it was possible to say about 'Kinky Butler Sex'. It was safe to say Bex had far too much imagination.

"It's clear he's not going to answer us, Edward. What do_ you_ imagine when he says 'Kinky Butler Sex'?"

"I really don't know, Bex. I think it involves a kitchen and probably me saying, 'Who shall I announce?' just before my cock enters his ass." He glanced at me as he drove, smiling the same amused smile he had worn since Bex had asked her question, then he went on. "Although, I think it would work better if he were the one saying it."

"I can't be Alfred!" That was the tricky thing with Edward, I should be telling him that it was ridiculous, but no, I was arguing about what he had just said like it all made sense! "I have no idea what it is exactly! Just you being all rude and snotty while you fuck me. And you wearing one of those outfits, too. That would be hot." And the use of several kitchen appliances. But I wasn't going to talk about that now or Bex would never let me hear the end of it.

I was leaning back against the door, so I could see Edward better and be able to look at Bex when I wanted to. I could only see his profile as he was focused on the road, and I missed seeing his reactions. I liked the way he would look at me when something made him laugh or when he was surprised, but he glanced at me once in a while, and I'd get a glimpse of it.

"I'm not going to start dressing up like a clown to get you off, I'm warning you."

Bummer. Not that I had a clothes fetish, but it could be fun. I was still picturing Edward wearing a butler outfit when he spoke again.

"And I know there's more to it, Bruce. We'll have to have a talk about this 'Kinky Butler Sex' when you and I are alone."

"Hey! I want to know what it is, too!" Bex shouted from the back. "Plus, I'm shocked you're not more kinky, Edward. No dressing up?"

She ignored so many things about him. Although I did, too. But I was still convinced that someone who got off on watching people going at it and who wasn't bothered by wanking in front of others wouldn't be against trying most things. I could be wrong. Dang! I hoped I wasn't wrong.

"Define 'kinky', Bex."

This car wasn't a comfortable place to be talking about sex. I mean, I didn't mind talking about it, plus I was learning more things about Edward, and that was great. But besides the hard-on I had been sporting since I got in the car –of course I kept picturing Edward and I ducking! In a lot of different positions, in a lot of different places- I couldn't hold a conversation with those two without my mind going into porn mode.

"I think Bruce is gone again."

"I am not!" I had heard that a few times already from both Bex and Edward. I couldn't deny it the other times, because as I said, my mind _was_ gone a lot, but not now. "I'm just listening to your conversation. What do you mean by 'define kinky'?" Bex didn't add anything. I think she was just saying things to get us to talk, which we would have done anyway.

He stayed silent a few seconds and changed gears before answering, "Kinky doesn't mean the same thing to everyone, it seems. Some people think that using a scarf to tie your partner up is kinky."

"And it's not?"

He chuckled then added, "Not in my book, no. It can be called spicing things up or just part of normal sex, but it's definitely not kinky. But again, that's just me."

"Spanking?"

"On a regular basis?"

"No."

"Not kinky, then."

"So for you those things could be part of any sexual relationship, and not considered 'kinky'?"

Bex would ask that question. Of course she would. I didn't know if she was doing that to have some fun or fishing for some info for my benefit. Although I didn't need to know - yet.

"There's a thin line between something kinky and someone kinky. And as I said, people are quick to say they're kinky, but after a short talk with them you know they're not; it doesn't mean they don't do kinky things sometimes, it just means that everyone has their own definition of what it is. Take my brother, for example."

Darn, he had a brother? I'd have to ask about his family later. I kept listening. I had no doubt it would be fun and interesting.

"He thinks reverse cowgirl and anal are the ultimate in kinkiness. Sad, isn't it?"

"Well, yeah, I guess."

"For you, but not for him. Julian is the opposite. He doesn't think anything less than being suspended by chains is kinky. Because most of what people call kinky is just regular behavior and doing it doesn't make them kinky. I tend to agree with him."

I knew it! Well, okay, I didn't know, but I was hoping.

"Now, not that I mind talking about my sex life with you, Bex, and I understand Jasper's curiosity, but why do you care?"

He sent her a smirk via the rear-view mirror, then winked at me which made me laugh. I looked at Bex, who shrugged. "I want to know you better. A person's sexuality says so much about them, and it's a good topic for a road trip, isn't it"

That was so Bex, she didn't believe in just asking about someone's favorite novels or political beliefs. She'd ask for people's sexual history,or fetishes, too. It had made for awkward conversation in the past with some people we'd met. When she'd asked me those questions a few years back, I had laughed but answered honestly; she had never made me feel like she was judging me. Now I was wondering about Edward's sexual past and the things he had tried out. Ah, and naked Edward was in my head once again. I was aware that Edward and Bex were still talking but I was too entranced by that picture of him to care.

"Bruce?"

"Uh? What?" Dang, now naked Edward was gone.

"Nothing, I was surprised you didn't react to what Bex was saying."

What? What did she say? I turned to her. "What did you say?"

"Well, you should have listened, boy."

I looked at Edward, who was laughing. "What did she say?"

He didn't answer me; that wasn't good. They could be playing with me, but knowing them, Bex had said something. "Seriously?" I huffed and pointed a finger at him. "That's what she does, but you? What happened to 'if you ask a question I'll answer'?"

"Hey, you didn't give me enough time to answer you!" He shook his head. "You apparently have some, ah, special tastes."

What the duck? I screwed up my eyes while I looked at her. "Bex? What did you say?"

She gazed at me, unruffled. "Nothing much, boy. Don't worry."

"It's true, Jasper. She only mentioned that I wouldn't be scared by the things you like to do."

I groaned and leaned back. It was going to be a long drive if they kept teasing me like this. He sent me a sideways glance for a second before turning his eyes back on the road. I could see he was both amused and curious, but he didn't ask me any questions about it. He looked at me again as if trying to understand something, then shook his head. He chuckled but stayed silent.

I sighed in relief; I wasn't like Edward, who could talk about those things and then just shrug it off. Plus, for now, I'd rather avoid the endless teasing that would come from the both of them. I suddenly realized we were all silent for the first time since we'd left Seattle.

Edward was still focused on driving, but I didn't doubt he was having his own inner conversation; I couldn't be the only one, right? I wondered what he was thinking about. Hopefully it was about me, preferably naked.

That's when the silence was broken by snoring coming from the back of the car. I turned my head to see that Bex was fast asleep.

Edward glanced in the rear-view mirror and chuckled. Dang, she was kind of loud. I remembered then that I wanted to know about his family.

"So you have a brother?" That sounded lame; of course he had a brother.

"Yes."

Why did I always ask the wrong questions? I should know better by now. "Tell me about your brother, then."

"There's not much to say, Jasper. He's younger than me; he has a college education, a job and a girlfriend. He's the kind of guy who steps all over people to get what he wants. I think he's a dumb fucker. He thinks I'm one. Maybe in a few years it'll be better but for now, it's not. "

Okay. Edward wasn't fond of his brother. "What about your parents?"

"They're good people. I know that if I had a real problem they'd be there for me. But we don't live on the same planet. I don't know, it's strange," he paused for a minute, "they're in my life and at the same time they're not. My father probably doesn't know what my life has been for the last few years even though I saw him often, and my mother forgets or doesn't listen, although she wishes the best for me.

As he kept talking, I found myself being surprised. I had gotten the feeling before that he wasn't all that close to them but not to that extent. Although his mother sounded like fun. He didn't seem sad when he explained how his family worked, so I guess he was fine with it.

"Wow."

"It's okay, Bruce, we can both agree that in the family department, I have better luck than you do."

"That can't be argued, Alfred." I hadn't even heard from my mother after what happened. I would have thought she'd at least call me. I decided to change the topic because family was definitely not the best conversation for us. Knowing where Edward was coming from had been interesting, though.

"So, tell me some random things about you."

He frowned. "Are we in summer camp or something?"

"No, it's just-"

"If you want to know something you only have to ask, Jasper."

I knew that, but the only question I felt like asking was, 'Do you want me to bend over?' and since he was driving that wouldn't make much sense. I picked up the map at my feet –which was still as crumpled as earlier- and tried to fold it up again. I was sure he had things he could tell me that I wouldn't even think about asking. "Okay, tell me a few things you dislike."

"Really?"

I didn't think my question was all that weird. He was trying not to laugh, and I hit his shoulder. "Answer!"

"Things I dislike or things I hate?"

"Whatever. Both."

"Ah, that's so enthusiastic, Bruce."

Darn him. I sent him a pointed look that he didn't notice, and added, "You still haven't answered."

"I just don't get why you'd ask me that question."

"Because I find it interesting, and it's not a hard question! It's not like I asked if you preferred anal beads or plugs!"

"Plugs."

Uh.

Okay.

And cue naked Edward playing with plugs and getting off. Dang! That was a mental picture I wanted to keep. Did that mean he had plugs? Did that mean he had plugs _in the car? _Did that mean I'd get to actually see him using them? I was too lost in my head to care what my reaction to his words looked like, but I was really hard and breathing quickly. Did that mean he'd use them on me? I closed my eyes because the excitement was way too much for my brain.

"Bruce!"

"Yes!"

He was laughing so loudly that I wondered for a second why it didn't wake Bex up. "I thought you were having an attack. Are you alright?"

His teasing tone made me smile. He knew very well what he was doing to me. "I had a little blackout, but I'm fine." I shifted in my seat to get more comfortable. "You know that I have a picture of you in my head now, with a butt plug, right?"

He snickered. "I bet you do. I hope it's a good one."

"Oh, it is! So, butt plug, huh?"

"Why not? What gay man doesn't have at least one? I wouldn't believe you if you said you didn't."

"I do. Well, I did." I had a whole lot of them in different sizes and numerous other toys, for that matter. Except I guess now I didn't anymore.

"What's with the sullen face, Bruce?"

"They were in one of my dresser drawers. So, I guess my father has them now."

The idea of him finding them made me burst into laughter; Edward must have had the same thought because he was laughing, too.

"That's a shame, Batman."

"It is! I really liked them."

He smiled and his hand left the gearshift to pat my thigh. "Then I guess we'll have to buy you new ones."

Me and Edward in a sexshop buying toys? Yes, please! Followed by my inner fist pump and more porn in my head. But I still wanted to know more about him.

"But you have some, right?"

"I do."

I knew it! I wondered if he'd brought them with him.

"Yes, I brought them."

"How-"

"I know you well enough, Bruce. Plus it's a logical question to ask. I know I would have asked you."

Yeah, true. Darn it! There were sextoys in the car. Now I couldn't think of anything else. Although that reminded me of that time with Trent which made me shudder.

"What are you thinking about?"

Dang him! Even while driving he paid attention.

"Have you ever had any weird, ah, sexual experiences?"

"If I answer you, will you tell me about yours? I guess it involve sextoys."He chuckled, then added, "I really like how I can follow your thoughts without even trying."

I liked it, too. And I also knew I was getting better at reading _him_; that thought made me smile. "Yeah, I'll tell you. So?"

"I don't know what you mean by weird, but I'll tell you what weirded _me _out the most. A few years back, I dated a guy for a few weeks. It didn't last any longer than that, although he was fun and one of the cleverest men I knew."

I was jealous of that unknown 'cleverest' guy. I was being so stupid, but Edward and I weren't together even though it felt like it sometimes. I wasn't one to be jealous of someone's past, darn, I wasn't one to be really jealous period, but until things were clear one way or the other between us, I'd probably keep having the same reaction over and over. Edward kept going.

"Everything was going well until the day we talked about our sexual needs. We'd been having great fucks, seriously..."

Ah yeah, and the unknown 'cleverest' guy was great in bed, too. If I didn't know this story was meant to tell me about something that weirded Edward out, I wouldn't like it – at all. But I was here in Edward's car and that unknown 'cleverest' guy wasn't, so I guess I didn't care about that guy after all. Okay, story telling, listen Jasper.

"...but it was a conversation we needed to have, you know?" I nodded and he went on. "I mean you can't have a healthy relationship with someone if you don't know what they really need and want. Anyway, that night he told me that he needed to call me 'Daddy' while I fucked him in order to really have mind-blowing orgasms."

Uh. Not what I was expecting. I err- I didn't know what to say to that. "Mmhm, okay."

He fought a smile. "I don't judge what gets people off; that would be wrong coming from me. I didn't mind that he needed it, I just didn't think I could be with someone who needed that."

"I bet. Wow, that must have been weird."

"It was!"

No way. Seriously? "You tried?"

"Yup! I really liked that guy, and well, I had to try it and see."

"And?"

"Fuck, it was awful. I spent the first part of the fuck dreading him uttering the word so it totally spoiled my fun, then he said it and I went flaccid in less than a second. I told him it wasn't a good idea to stay together since I couldn't handle it, and he couldn't act like he didn't need it. He would have been miserable in the long run."

"Yeah." That was… special. Although I guess some people would think that what Edward liked was special. I didn't even dare think about how some people would view what _I_ liked; although it wasn't the same as wanting to call my boyfriend 'daddy' every time we ducked.

"Now, tell me about your weird experience with sextoys."

Ah, yes. I turned around to check to see if Bex was still sleeping; she already knew about it, but I had heard all of her jokes about it already. I was sure she would have the occasion to share them with Edward, but I could wait for that.

"Uhm, I had just bought some new toys and my boyfriend at the time was very happy about it. He wouldn't be caught dead in a sexshop, but he liked toys." That used to drive me crazy. I always ended up with guys who had problems with accepting who they were. I was the one with the parents who didn't know I was gay, but I still dated guys, and if I wanted a plug I'd buy it. Why be ashamed of it? That was one of the many reasons why Edward appealed to me so much; he was himself all the time and allowed me to be myself around him. That made him darn hot in my eyes.

"Is there an end to your story, Bruce?"

"Oh yeah, sorry. So I had picked him up and we were on our way to spend a weekend away, but he couldn't wait for us to get there to use the toys. He made me stop on the side of the road, and well, one thing followed another and I ended up with a huge butt plug half way in my ass. It was the kind you use when you're all relaxed and have time to work it in, you know?"

He frowned. "Yeah." He was obviously trying to understand where my story was going.

"Just then we heard a car pull up just behind us and a second later this police officer is walking towards us. We were still in the front seat and Trent –the guy I was with – pushed me back hard against my seat as he was putting his trousers back on." Edward winced, getting what happened next, but I still finished talking. "The motion pushed the plug in all the way and I swear I've never howled that much in my life. But the officer was almost there and all I could do was put my pants back on, too."

"That sucks so much I don't even want to laugh. Yet." He was shaking his head; nice to have someone sympathize. I could find the humor in it now, but at the time it wasn't very funny.

"The officer spent at least fifteen minutes talking to us. He wasn't fooled and he knew what we were up to, but since he hadn't caught us, he just told us to leave. But I had that thing stuck in my ass for a ducking fifteen minutes, and it hurt so darn much! Then Trent started the car and drove, and I was still in the same situation. I was so pissed at him, seriously. I don't have to tell you that taking the plug out wasn't comfortable either."

I suppose the sympathy part was over because Edward was laughing so much it made him choke.

"Oh, please, laugh at me. That was weird and painful! Your 'daddy' story hardly compares to this!"

"Bruce, something like that could only happen to you." He chuckled and I punched his shoulder, but that didn't seem to faze him as he asked, "Do you have any more stories like that?"

"Sadly, I do." _Dang! I did!_

"Don't sound so down. I do too." That's what I wanted to hear! Before I could reply to that he added, "We're going to stop here for a bit. I need to stretch my legs, and we all need a break."

He stopped at a gas station with a restaurantand woke Bex before getting out.

"What did I miss?"

Of course that would be her first question.

"Weirdest ducking moments, anal beads or plugs, and Edward not telling me the things he dislikes the most in life." We were all out of the car by then.

"I missed all that? Why didn't you wake me up? I wanted to hear the part about the weirdest fuck! What did you tell him about? The big plug or the 'Jazzy, baby, Jazzy' story?"

I groaned. "Bex, please."

"Oh, I want to hear _that_ story, Bruce."

"That's what I'm afraid of, Alfred." I wasn't going to talk about it now, anyway. We entered the shop and Bex left to go to the washroom while we went to the restaurant to get our coffee. The girl behind the counter was ogling Edward as if her life depended on it, and kept calling him pet names. Seriously, people stopped here for one hour tops. What was she trying to achieve?

When she came by us for the fifth time, I pointed to Edward. "He likes sucking cocks." She frowned, and the man next to us moved further away. Then Edward piped up.

"How do you know I like to suck cocks?"

I stared at him for a few seconds, then turned to the girl behind the counter again. "Fine. He likes cocks, I don't know about the sucking part." I looked at him. "My cock likes to be sucked on, so I really hope you like doing it." He seemed to ponder my words then faced Coffee Girl.

"I like to suck cocks."

"Anytime I'm not listening you say interesting things!" And Bex was back.

"Hey, Bex, Jasper doesn't say 'fuck' but he says cock."

"Yes, I know. It's a mystery to me, but it happens sometimes."

"You do know that I'm right here?" I could say cock. It was a nice word. I liked cocks. I really wanted to see Edward's, too.

Bex took her coffee, and walked out without a backward glance. Then I felt Edward's breath against my ear.

"That was kind of hot, Bruce." He put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. "I'm looking forward to more of it later today." Then he walked away. No, no, he couldn't walk away. Why did he walk away? Oh yeah, people, families, highway stop. Darn it!

As we walked back to the car, Edward gave me his key. "Your turn to drive now, Bruce." He got in the passenger seat while Bex took her place in the back.

"Fine, but no sex talk, I need to focus."

"Where's the fun in that, boy? I already missed the weird fuck conversation!"

"Yeah, well unless you want to end up in an accident, I can't have naked Edward in my head while I'm driving." That wouldn't bode well.

"You have me naked in your head?"

"Why wouldn't I? Of course I do, and a lot more, too."

"I hope I look good." He chuckled and took the same position I had when he was the one driving.

"Believe me, you do." Oh, he did. I couldn't picture everything clearly but the few times we had slept in the same bed he had been shirtless, and he had never been shy when it came to walking around in his underwear.

"I hate fixed gift-giving days"

Uh? "What?"

"You said to Bex earlier that I never answered your question about things I disliked, so I'm telling you now. I hate fixed gift-giving days."

Uh. "Not sure I understand, Alfred."

Bex spoke. "Don't wait for Valentine's Day to offer him something."

Edward laughed and added, "It's more than that. You don't even have to offer me anything on Valentine's Day. The concept of waiting for a certain day to offer a gift because 'you have to do it' bugs me. I don't like Christmas either, or birthdays."

"You don't like Christmas?" I've never had a good one; my father always made sure I was miserable, but I still liked the idea of Christmas.

"Ah, no, that's not exactly it, Bruce." He sighed. "I don't like the concept of people ignoring you all year long and then offering you something -that they bought without even thinking about whether you'd like it or not- as if that made everything better. I mean relatives who don't give a fuck but throw something at you, and boyfriends who don't make any effort the rest of the time as long as they do something on V day, and husbands treating their wives like shit or just not paying attention to them, but it's okay because she gets a bouquet of flowers or a vacation in the sun each year. The same goes for Mother's Day. I don't know, it doesn't seem right to me."

"I can see your point, but not everybody is like that."

"Then why wait for society to dictate to you when to buy gifts for the people you love? Why not offer something any other day of the year? I'm the kind of guy who, if he sees something he knows will make someone happy, will buy it and give it to the person, regardless of the date. I don't wait for December 25th or February 14th to be thoughtful to people who are important to me. And it's not about 'buying' things, I don't want to be with someone who needs society to remind him to be nice to me. I'd rather not receive anything on those days than feel like it's forced."

Then my question wasn't so stupid, was it? I would have never known that if I hadn't asked that question. I completely understood what he was saying, even if I had never thought about it that way until now. Edward was complex and fascinating, at least to me; finding out little by little what made him tick only made me like him even more, and I already liked him a lot. Everything I learned about him only served to make me want him more, and not only in a sexual way.

"Yeah, I get it, Edward. It makes sense."

"Then you'll be happy with Jasper, Edward. This boy loves to wish people a happy un-birthday!"

Well, yes I did, why wait for one day a year when there are three hundred and sixty-four other days? Okay, so people thought I was crazy, but I didn't care. "I like wishing people happy un-birthdays! They're fun, and it's always a surprise."

Edward gazed at me, silent, then I felt his hand on my neck, stroking my skin and the nape of my neck. I wished again that I still wore my hair longer. I closed my eyes for a second to savor the feeling of his hand on me until I remembered that I was the one driving, and I couldn't just let myself have a mental orgasm. Crashing now wouldn't be good, and certainly not before he'd had a chance to bend me over something. I tried to focus on the road, not on all the places I would love to feel his hands, and after a lot of effort I achieved it. Obviously my hard-on did not flag but I was used to that by now.

I heard Bex moving around in the back seat, and then saw her hand waving the knife she had used to make us sandwiches earlier. Edward was laughing at her antics. I glanced at him, wondering what she was doing, but he shrugged. "What the duck are you doing, Bex?"

"Just checking something, boy. And what do you know, it's true! You _can _cut sexual tension with a knife!"

Edward and I burst into laughter, then she added, "You two are so sweet it makes me gag. Where's the road head?"

"Bex, I have trouble driving with his hand on my neck; anything more would make me crash the car!"

Edward snorted but left his hand where it was. "And stopping on a highway to give head isn't my idea of fun, so that will have to wait." She huffed playfully and he asked her, "Why don't you look at the map and decide where we should stop?"

He gave her the map - that I still hadn't folded - and she looked at it quizzically. "What happened to it?"

"Ah, Jasper happened to it."

"You did that, boy? No way, it would drive you crazy to leave it that way."

I shrugged. Being sad or overly horny seemed to tone down my need for order. Although I really needed that map to be folded properly soon. Bex took a look at it,

"Okay boys, we've been driving for a while already. How much longer do you want to drive? We can stop somewhere in Idaho or push on to Montana." She paused but I couldn't see what she was doing. I heard Edward chuckle, though. Then she spoke again. "It's not like we're on a schedule, anyway."

Edward looked at me. "How much longer do you feel like driving, Bruce?"

Not long, but I really wanted our stop tonight to be in Montana. "I'll drive as long as I need to. I say Montana."

He squeezed my neck. "Yeah, me too. Where can we stop, Bex?"

She hummed before answering. "Billings."

That didn't sound very exciting. "Billings?"

"Just drive, boy. I say Billings. I'm sure there are things to see."

"And if it's not the case, we'll leave tomorrow, Bruce."

"Billings it is, then."

We talked about it more, and Edward tried to get info about the city on his phone, but we didn't get much. Bex fell asleep again. Apparently the car was lulling her to sleep, and soon Edward fell asleep, too. I drove faster than I should have because I _needed_ to be there as soon as possible. There was no way I'd spend my time in a car when I could get Edward in a motel room.

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I woke them up when we got there, and we drove around until we all agreed on a place to stop for the night. The Red Roof Cafe and Motel really had a red roof, and seemed to be good enough for what we needed, plus we wouldn't have to hunt for a place to eat. Edward went to rent the rooms for us while Bex and I headed to the restaurant. Edward joined us not long after, and gave us our keys just as the waiter walked towards our table to take our orders. Why had he given me a key? Dang, were we in different rooms? Darn it! I wanted to ask him but-

"Welcome to Red Roof. How's your day going?"

Bex pointed a finger at me. "Jasper said cock; it's been a good day."

_So, two rooms or one? Who cared if I said cock? I just wanted Edward's cock!_

The waiter's eyebrows shot up, and he looked at the three of us. "Well, that wasn't something I was expecting to hear when I started my shift, but uh, congrats?"

He didn't seem really shocked by Bex's behavior, but I still felt that I had to say something. "She's always like that, don't worry."

He laughed and locked eyes with Bex. "I don't mind, and I like to say 'cock', too." He spoke in a hushed tone so the people around us wouldn't hear.

"Ah, yeah, but do you like to suck on them?"

"Bex!" Darn it! I just wanted a meal, a quick meal. Eat and leave, but noooo. For someone who'd spent the last few days cheering us on, she was acting like the world's biggest cockblocker. I hope it's one room. And that Bex has one really far from ours so she couldn't bang on the wall to cheer us on. Gah, that mental picture was disturbing.

The waiter grimaced. "Ah, no ma'am. I like mine, but otherwise I prefer vaginas."

Bex seemed satisfied by his answer. Knowing her, she loved that he replied in kind. I think she had a radar or something, that allowed her to recognize people she could act like that with, without traumatizing them. Was that possible? Well, if anyone could, it was her. Our waiter looked just a bit older than Edward and I, and had a colored tattoo on his neck. His white shirt couldn't hide the fact that it spread out over his entire right arm. The guy was really tall and obviously worked out, which didn't make him hard to look at. His dark hair was really short and his blue eyes were locked on Bex, looking at her as if she was the most entertaining thing he had seen so far; which was probably true. _Darn it! I hope it's one room!_

Bex pursed her lips, and sent an evil grin to Edward. "Edward and Jasper like cocks, it's too bad you don't, too. Jasper needs to be fucked, and I've been doing all I can, but nothing is happening. Maybe you'd have been more efficient..." She motioned for him to give his name.

"Emmett."

Edward, who hadn't really reacted to Bex's teasing, spoke then. "Don't listen to her, she's just annoyed that she can't be there to witness it, plus she wants to see if you're going to run for the hills."

_It had to be one room, right? Right?_

We finally gave our order, and I hoped they served it really quickly, but of course it took way longer than I wanted. Emmett came by often to talk to us. When the meal was over, Bex asked him a lot of questions about the bars in the area, stating that she wasn't looking for just _any_ bar but one where she could have fun, play pool and drink good whiskey. She also hinted about poker to Emmett's surprise, and he told her he'd take her to a bar he liked after his shift if she wanted. Then the poor guy added something he shouldn't have.

"I won't be off for a while. I'd understand if you were too tired."

She sent him a death glare. "What do you take me for? Be careful young man, or I'll wipe the floor with your ass."

Emmett looked at us, wide-eyed. "Can I keep her?"

"Oh no, those two broke me out of my prison. I'll stick with them." She looked at both Edward and I. "So, do you want to join us tonight? Come on, it'll be fun!"

I hadn't seen her so enthusiastic in months; it was great to witness. I was so happy with Edward for making that U-turn so we could go back and get her.

"I'm game, what about you Batman?"

"When does your shift end?" I needed time! Going out with Bex and Edward would be great if it didn't kill my sex life.

"In about four hours. Is that okay with you?" Four hours was great! Yes! He was looking at me expectantly. I suppose he really wanted to take Bex out. I could understand that, she was something else. I nodded in answer, and Bex emitted a 'woot' before giving Emmett a high-five.

Edward stood up, and put some money on the table. "Okay then, we'll be back here in four hours. For now I need a shower and some rest."

Rest? No, no. Bex exchanged a few more words with Emmett, and we stepped out of the restaurant to get our bags out of the car. I really needed to know if we were sharing a room - my cock seriously wouldn't survive the wait. He seemed so calm and collected all the time. How did he do it? Darn it!

"Okay, you two go ahead. I have something to do first."

What? No! But he had already gone back inside the restaurant and I was left with Bex.

She patted my shoulder. "Go to your room and get some rest, boy." Then she checked her key, and pointed to our right. "My room is this way. Where's yours?"

"Uh. I don't know." I checked the key in my hand. "Mine is the other way." Well, at least if anything happened she wouldn't be next door to us. Me. Whatever. Dang!

I went to my room, and put my bag on the bed. The room was plain, and as I looked at the furniture I could imagine Edward bending me over every surface. Darn him for not being here! I stepped into the bathroom, which was long and rather narrow. It had two sinks on the right and a shower taking up the whole back wall. I started undressing. If I couldn't have him, the next best thing was a shower.

Once I was naked, I looked at myself in the mirror above the sinks, and shook my head. Dang, I was still hard and the thought of jerking-off had never been more depressing to me.

"Having another inner conversation?"

His voice made me jump, and I ended up against the opposite wall. Edward was leaning against the door frame, shirtless and barefoot. I felt my cock twitch as I stared at him, and he watched my body's reaction with a small smile on his lips. His gaze locked on mine, before it trailed along my body again and back to my eyes. Then he took the three steps that separated us and put his right hand on the wall next to my left ear, his body just inches from mine.

The mixture of our lust and anticipation that had built up during the day were now at the point where I felt that if he were to finally touch me I would explode; my cock kept twitching against him, and my body vibrated with need.. He never broke eye contact until he turned his head, placing his mouth almost on my ear.

"Since you've spent the whole drive picturing it, tell me how I'm going to fuck you now."

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><p><strong><em>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<em>**


	9. I have to go fcuk Batman

_**As always a huge thank you to Dariachenowith, Chrissy and WendyK for their time and help!**_

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><p><strong>And of course thanks to YOU for being<strong>** so awesome! ****Your reviews are made of win and I can't thank you enough!**

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><p><strong><em>Somewhere on the World Wide Web, there's '<em>The Twifestivals_', it's for slash fics with under 1K reviews. People I admire are nominated, like _Avioleta_ for her story '_stay_', _OvertlyConcealed_ for _'Outside the Bubble'_, _Kgq 'The best part of me was always you'_,_ KellanCougar_ for _'Learning to fly_' ,_ Slashifyed_ for_ 'awake our soul_', there's also _Mrs. Aggets_, __Sadtomato and so many more. All these stories are wonderful, so if you have a little time why not vote for the ones you like. The direct link for these awards is on my profile._**

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><p>Disclaimer: Re: A cock and a prostate meet. Jasper and Edward moan (amongst other things.)<p>

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><p><em><strong>Edward<strong>_

On our way to the car I told Bex and Jasper to go on ahead to their rooms. I needed to talk to Emmett.

"Did you forget something?"

He was cleaning tables, and I followed him as he worked. "No. I just wanted the address of the bar we're going to tonight. Jasper and I will probably be on time to meet you here; it's just in case we're late and you decide to go on ahead."

After writing it down on his pad, he gave me the paper. "It's easy to find, don't worry. Your friend Bex will be on time, right?"

"Ah, yes. She might even be there early; you made her night by inviting us to go out."

He smiled. "I can't want to see how it goes! It's the first time I've gone out with a woman who is more than twice my age."

I nodded. He'd probably have more fun with her than with most girls he took out. "About that. In case we're late, watch her."

He gazed at me, curious. "Watch her?"

I laughed. "Oh, she can defend herself, don't worry. But I don't know where you're taking us, and you saw how she was with you earlier." He chuckled, and I went on. "She doesn't do that with everyone, but I'm not sure how it works once she's drunk."

"Got it. Don't worry, man."

I put the address in my pocket and clapped him on the shoulder. "Cool. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go fuck Batman."

"Fuck Batman? You three are so weird!"

"And?"

He shook his head, still smiling. "Nothing. I love it."

I left him to finish his work and walked to my room. Our room. It was clear Jasper had wondered about it; he hadn't asked but I could read it so easily on his face and from his body language. Poor Bruce had spent the whole day with a boner, too. He had been so tense at dinner that I could almost feel his whole body vibrate; Bex's little game hadn't helped, either. He had been oblivious to it, but she had slowed down dinner on purpose.

I wondered if her goal was to drive him crazy but came to the conclusion that she would have loved to see him stand up and ask me to fuck him, instead of just waiting for the meal to be over.

I opened the door to our room slowly and put my bag near the door before taking my shirt off. The bathroom door was ajar, and I could hear him moving around. I also took my shoes and socks off, and put some packages of lube and condoms in my pants pocket. Jasper had been right. It _was_ really practical.

Jasper was standing in the bathroom, naked, looking at himself in the mirror. Although I wasn't sure he was looking at anything because he seemed lost in thought again. I leaned on the door frame while I continued to watch him.

"Having another inner conversation?"

He jumped, startled, and ended up against the wall, his eyes fixed on me. I watched as his cock twitched and he started breathing faster, then I moved closer to him, until my body was just inches from his. I could feel his cock against my pants. His whole body had goose bumps, and I was so close that I could feel him shiver. I never broke eye contact; the lust there was as clear as it must have been in mine. Watching him like that turned me on even more. I really needed to fuck him.

I put my mouth close to his ear. "Since you've spent the whole drive picturing it, tell me how I'm going to fuck you now."

I was sure he knew exactly what he wanted, and who was I to refuse him? I couldn't see his face anymore but saw his throat moved as he swallowed. The sound that came out of his mouth sounded more like a whimper than a word.

My right hand was on the wall, near his head, and I put all my body weight on it as I let my left hand trail from his right shoulder down to his torso. My fingers grazed his erect nipple on their way down his body, making Jasper moan loudly. His hands shot up, one gripping my waist and the other my shoulder. Seemed like someone was sensitive. Interesting.

He left his hands there as mine kept on trailing down his body. I felt his muscles quiver, and he kept whimpering, but he still hadn't answered me. I didn't touch his cock and left my hand just under his balls, my forefinger stroking his perineum. His cock twitched again, certainly liking what I was doing, and his hands gripped me harder.

I started fondling his balls, my thumb stroking the underside of his cock. I still hadn't looked at his face but I knew his eyes were on me; his legs began to shake from my ministrations, so I gripped his cock and stroked it before putting my mouth close to his ear again.

"You still haven't answered me, Jasper, and I really need to fuck you."

He leaned his head back, hitting the wall with a thud, and his hands tightened on me as he let out a loud moan, followed by growl. Then I felt his cum on my hand. I kept stroking him, watching his cock streamingmore cum all over my pants. Oh, well, it was my pants that he creamed, in the end.

He groaned again and put his forehead against my shoulder. I didn't make a sound, but he could feel me chuckle.

"Don't laugh. You can't expect me not to come when you act like this!"

His words were muffled since his mouth was against my skin, but I understood them anyway. He didn't give me time to react before adding, "Plus, I've basically been hard for the last three days; today was the worst so far."

I chuckled again because I knew it was true. I kissed his shoulder, open-mouthed, and bit him lightly before wiping his cum off my hand on the back of my pants.

"That's alright, Bruce. I think you said something about your cock loving to be sucked?"

I felt him nod, and I trailed my mouth along where my hand had been. I licked his nipple on my way down which got the same reaction as my fingers had. I looked up to see him watching me, his mouth slightly open and his breathing ragged, again. He looked like he couldn't believe that I was actually going to suck him. As my mouth continued to lick and nip at his body, I let my hand stroke his back, waist, and ass. I paid attention to his reactions, to where and when and how he would moan, trying to discover little by little how his body worked. He was lean, with smooth skin, and if he had chest hair he at least wasn't too hairy, although I knew that already. Still, I had been relieved when I had checked his ass – which was really great **-** earlier, to see that it wasn't too hairy. I didn't mind hair, but I minded hairy asses.

When I licked his balls before taking one in my mouth, he leaned on the wall, one hand grasping a handful of my hair.

"Darn, that's a hot visual."

I let his balls go and laughed as I stroked his half-hard cock. Only Jasper would say darn at a moment like this. I wet two of my fingers and reached between his legs to his ass. He opened them more to accommodate me, and I stroked his asshole before sucking on his balls again. My hands coupled with my mouth made him hard in a few minutes, and he was now moaning louder than before, fisting my hair harder and chanting 'please' with each stroke of my hand.

I hadn't actually sucked him, yet, but it was clear that's what he wanted now. "Tell me." I would have just done it, but I really loved hearing him say 'cock'. When he had said it earlier today, it turned me on so much that I could have fucked him right there in that gas station.

I liked the word cock, but I can't say it had ever turned me on before; there was something about him saying it, maybe the fact that he controlled his vernacular so much, I don't know. What I knew is that I wanted to hear him say it again. Badly.

My mouth was still on his balls, and my eyes were on him when he spoke. "Suck," _moan_ "my cock."

My cock twitched and I groaned at his words. I really needed to get out of these pants fast. My whole body was on edge, and I didn't know how long I could wait before I just threw him down on the floor and fucked him hard. I finally licked his head, and maintained eye contact with him as I took him fully in my mouth. He watched as I sucked him thoroughly; his tongue licking his slightly opened lips between whimpers.

The feel of his cock hitting my throat added to my lust, and as much as I loved having the taste of it on my tongue and hearing the noises he was now making, I'd rather hear him moan for other reasons. I finally stood up and his hands were on my pants in a second, impatiently pulling them open. Jasper stayed silent when my cock sprung free; really, he wasn't moving anymore and I didn't think my cock deserved even a minute of silence. "Jasper?"

"Uh ,sorry, I had a Pulp Fiction moment?"

Surprisingly, that sort of thing turned me on, now. I had no idea what he meant, and I didn't even try to understand because he had a tendency to say the strangest things at the strangest moments. And as I said, that turned me on.

"What?"

His gaze was still locked on my cock, when he spoke. "You know when they open the briefcase and there's light coming out of it? I think that happened when I opened your pants."

Laughing, I took the lube and condoms out of my pocket before taking my pants off all the way. I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed so he would look at me instead of my crotch.

"Now Jasper, if you don't tell me how you want me to fuck you, I swear I'll just fuck you any way I want."

He grinned at me and took two steps forward until he was standing in front of the bathroom counter. He looked at me in the mirror and licked his lips as he slowly bent over until his chest was pressed on the counter, his head still up, his eyes never leaving mine.

It was my turn to moan. His ass was sticking out in front of me and his hands were gripping the faucets on each side of him. I stood behind him and trailed my hands along his back muscles, the position of his arms defining them even more, and over the curve of his ass.

I put a condom on as fast as I could. "When was the last time you had something in your ass?"

"Four days ago, my favorite vibe."

Oh, yeah, we needed to find the closest sex shop and fast! I put some lube on my fingers and pushed them into him slowly; he groaned but never closed his eyes, keeping them focused on me.

"I don't think you need it, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

He gasped as I finger fucked him faster, and once I added a third finger, he started moving. I watched, fascinated, as he swayed and undulated his ass, fucking himself on my fingers. I couldn't take my eyes off him. His ass was moving so fast and with such fluidity. I had never seen anything like it before. I wanted to bite it, stroke it, and spank it all at the same time but my cock only wanted one thing.

I took my fingers out of his ass, which made him stop moving at once, and I groaned as I slammed into him forcefully.

"Oh fuck, shit, fuck me!"

I gripped his hips tightly as he spoke, his words nearly making me cum. Fuck, Bruce knew how to swear, and if I'd thought 'cock' turned me on, it was nothing compared to hearing him say 'fuck'. I loved that I was the only one to hear this side of him. I leaned down, my torso touching his back, until my head was next to his.

"Say it again."

"Fuck."

I rolled my hips, making him moan. "Say it again."

"Fuck. Fuck!"

I went back to my previous position and started fucking him as fast as I could, watching his reaction in the mirror. Fucking him was nothing like I had expected. I thought he would be shy and that clearly wasn't the case. That was a huge turn on to add to the list. My eyes kept going from his face in the mirror to his ass; he swore loudly each time I slammed into him and that, mixed with his moans, kept me going.

I loved his position as I fucked him, arms and legs spread wide, his hands clutching the faucets. The fact that I could fuck him like that and still see his face was a huge turn-on, too.

I hadn't had such a great fuck in a long while and I savored the moment. One of my hands ended up in his hair, but it was way too short for me to grab it. Fuck, he really needed to let it grow back! I settled for gripping one of his shoulders to give me leverage. Then I grasped his cock and stroked it in rhythm with my fucking. All I could hear was my body slapping against his, and his moans of pleasure. His cock kept twitching in my hand, and if I had learned my lesson the first time, it meant he was close.

I pulled on his shoulder until he let go of the faucets, and snaked an armed around his waist until he was flush against me, our bodies slick with sweat. I let go of his cock and grabbed one of his hands to replace mine. I wanted to see him jerk off as I fucked him, which he did without hesitation.

Our faces were close in that position, but we kept looking at each other in the mirror. I watched as he stroked his cock harder, and his head fell back on my shoulder. Jasper's mouth was now open, and I could feel his breath on my neck and ear as I fucked him. He was still watching us, through hooded eyes, and I couldn't keep from moaning myself at the visual.

I felt his ass clench on my cock as he finally shouted a 'fuck' before spurting cum all over the counter, his body shaking with his release. He kept stroking his cock, his body jerking with each tremor, and I tightened my hold on him. Even though he had come, he was still moaning as I fucked him and his asshole was still clenching on my cock. I bent him over again, this time hitching his right knee over the counter, so his ass was spread and wide open in front of me.

As I watched my cock slide in and out of his ass, I wanted to ask him to move as he had earlier but I was incapable of uttering a word in that moment, focused as I was on the pleasure I had fucking him.I grabbed his ass hard and began talking, but I couldn't even control what I was saying as I came hard, moving in him as long as I could until my cock became too sensitive for me to continue.

I put a hand on his back to try to catch my breath but we were both sweaty and it kept sliding off so I gave up and just leaned on him, my front against his back. My cock slid out of him, and without looking I pulled off the condom and just let it fall on the floor.

He was practically as out of breath as I was. We were a mess. He chuckled underneath me and I felt his voice resonating through me, since my head was laid on his upper back. "Gosh, I love your cock."

I laughed but didn't move. "Yeah, that was good."

"That, Edward, was better than good."

I just hummed in answer and then stood up, taking him with me. "Shower, Bruce."

We stepped into the shower, his back still flush against my front, and we stayed that way for a while, not talking, just letting the water clean us. Then I turned him around, and before he could blurt something out, I kissed him. It was an open-mouthed kiss, and his tongue was sliding against mine from the start. I pulled him closer to me and his hands shot up in my hair, gripping it as if he was scared I'd stop.

I had no intention of doing so and held him tighter to convey that. Well, and also because I liked the feeling of his body against mine. We finally washed, neither of us talking yet, not even when we got out of the shower. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, it was a shared one; neither of us felt like talking and that was the end of it.

Once dried off, I went to the bedroom and sat on the bed, leaning on the headboard. Jasper joined me, but instead of sitting next to me, he nudged my legs open and sat between them. Once again, I had his back against my torso and his head on my shoulder. Thinking about our position when he came made my semi go fully hard. He felt it against his back and wriggled a little, until I put my arms around his chest to make him stop.

"So, Bruce, I'm curious. What is the story behind 'Jazzy, baby, Jazzy'? "

He groaned and stroked his face with one hand before playing with my fingers. "A guy I dated used to say that all the time when we were… you know?"

Ah, Bruce was back to refusing to say the words. "Yes, I know."

"Well, I found it creepy. I hated the nickname, and I hated 'baby', too. And he knew that! But each time he would do it anyway. 'Jazzy baby, oh, Jazzy, so good, oh, baby!' It was freaky and I ended up avoiding anything sexual with him because it creeped me out so much." He paused, then added, "Seriously, I'm a grown man. I don't want to be called 'baby' while I have a cock deep in my ass." I twitched and he turned his head, frowning. "Don't tell me the 'baby' part excites you."

"Ah, no. I find it disturbing, too. You saying 'cock deep in my ass' does, on the other hand."

He chuckled at my words. "Uhm, good to know."

I started stroking his skin, and my thumb grazed one of his nipples, making him moan and close his eyes. I kept playing with it, pinching and twisting it as his cock grew hard. Then I played with both his nipples, watching his body writhe against mine and listening as his moans became louder. Fuck, it really turned him on a lot. He was so hard, and each time I rolled his nipples between my fingers, I'd tighten my hold on them, which made him gasp and his cock twitch.

"Who knew Jasper had such sensitive nipples?" He answered with a moan and bucked his hips. I kissed his throat and kept my mouth near his ear. It seemed he was sensitive there, too. "Look at you all wanton."

I kept pinching and twisting his nipples until his cock oozed pre-cum, then I used one of my fingers to spread it around, just on the top of his head, circling it _very_ slowly.

He emitted what could have been a groan or a cry and gripped my thighs hard; his hips shot up every few seconds and his abs jerked under the effort. It was a sight to behold.

Then he turned around swiftly, facing me but on all fours. Before I could say anything, my cock was in his mouth, and I was the one moaning loudly. Fuck, he was good. Shit, I had pictured him sucking me a few times but watching his head bobbing up and down and feeling his lips and tongue on my cock was mind-blowing. Damn, he was talented.

I let him set the pace and just enjoyed what he was doing. His hands were everywhere and he did something with his tongue that brought me to the edge each time, but he would stop just before I came. I was sure I'd come in his mouth, but then he did that ass movement of his again, and I became entranced by it, just as I had earlier. I pushed his head back, and he groaned.

"Hey, that was some of my best work there!"

I stood on my knees in front of him, and he mirrored my position. I licked his lips with my tongue, and he sucked it in his mouth. I stopped kissing him and grabbed his cock. "And believe me, that was one of the best blow jobs I've ever had."

"Then why stop me?"

I stroked him and placed my head on his shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll have many opportunities to suck me off." He whimpered and I kept speaking. "Maybe I'll even ask you to do it later, while we're out." He moaned and his cock twitched in my hand. "That seems to turn you on. Even knowing someone might catch us?" His cock twitched again and his moans were louder. Interesting.

"Are you turned on by the idea that someone might _watch_ us, Jasper?"

He was close to coming again and clutched my both my shoulders in a death grip, answering my question without even talking. Looked like I wasn't the only one of us here with some kinks.

I turned his head so I could look him in the eyes. "We'll see about that later. For now I just want to see how many times I can make you say 'fuck' and please, do that thing you do with your ass."

He gave me a cheeky smile. "You like that, huh?"

"I love it. Now turn around."

He handed me the condoms and lube and I eyed him, amused. "Prepared, I see."

"Hopeful!" was all he said before turning around, his face against the comforter and his ass sticking up in the air. I lubed his ass and the condom before sliding into him, the both of us groaning at the feeling.

"Fuck, yeah!" _And that's one._

In this position his asshole gripped my cock even more, or maybe it was just the motion he was making with his ass. Fuck, I loved his ass. I couldn't see his face when he was positioned like this but I could hear his 'fuck' and the noises he was making. Even his moans turned me on; the guys I fucked were usually either very silent or overdid it, sounding more like porn stars than real people, but his only spurred me on and increased my pleasure.

I put my hands on his hips and made him turn so he was now on his side. I hooked his knee over my arm and leaned down to kiss him, which muffled his moans as I started moving again. He gripped my hair as I kissed down his throat, and he cried out when I sucked on his nipple.

I licked and bit it as I fucked him, one of my hands gripping his calf and the other flat on the bed near his head. He was pulling almost painfully on my hair, but I didn't care. At that moment, all that mattered was his skin against mine and the pleasure we were both feeling.

I felt his hand against my abs and his moans got louder. I put the hand that was clutching his calf on the bed which made his ass stand even higher since his leg was still hooked over my arm. It made the angle even better. Now that I could put my body weight on that hand, I used the other to swat his away and stroked his cock myself. I wanted to be the one to do it this time.

His hand slapped my shoulder hard, but it was clear he hadn't meant to. He uttered a 'sorry', stroking it languidly to erase the sting, and it made me laugh. He huffed but it soon became a moan as my hand and cock worked him. I kissed him, still chuckling, and it started to make him laugh, too.

I stroked his cock faster but with shorter movements, and he turned his head, letting out a string of swear words I didn't even think he knew. Then he bit my wrist. I was so surprised that I nearly collapsed on top of him since all my weight was on that arm. I clenched my teeth, fuck he was biting hard, and he released a scream -muffled by my poor wrist- as he came hard all over my abs.

"Keep fucking me, please keep fucking me!"

Oh, shit, I really loved it when he swore! I had no desire to stop, but I nodded anyway. I loved when a guy didn't assume that a fuck was over just because he came; it wasn't for nothing that men had a prostate.

I turned him fully on his back and put his feet over my shoulders, then I fucked him as if there were no tomorrow. Sweat was dripping down my neck and I could feel the drops gliding down my lower back, too.

He caught my waist with his hands and pulled me to him. Jasper was fucking flexible! He kept me there and licked my neck before chanting 'fuck' in my ear. I groaned and fucked him faster, the both of us moaning as my orgasm took over. I didn't stop slamming into him until it was totally over, then I collapsed on him, my head buried in his neck. I finally let go of his legs, and he hitched them around my waist, holding me even more tightly. There was no way we could have been closer than we were, but it was like he was trying anyway, so I snaked my arms around him as best I could and held him tighter, too.

After a while he let his legs fall onto the bed; I was still on top of him but I knew I wasn't crushing him. I couldn't weigh much more than he did. Neither of us moved, content to stay where we were, even covered in sweat and cum.

We could have fallen asleep that way, but my body had cooled down so I got up, instead.

"Why did you move? I'm cold now."

"Well, my ass has been freezing for a while, so I'd rather lie under the covers, if you don't mind"

He groaned but stood up, too, so I could push the comforter aside and slide under the sheet. I was too lazy to go in the bathroom to take another shower and he must have been too, since he didn't bring up the topic as he slid in beside me.

I lay on my back and put his head in the crook of my neck. His whole front was flush again my side, his arm spread across my chest and his legs entwined with mine. It was really close to the position he had taken during his sleep two nights ago, but this time my arms were around him.

*.*.*

"Do you think they'll still be waiting for us?"

"We're not that late, but I have the address of the bar just in case."

We had finally left the room and were on our way to the restaurant. After setting an alarm on our phones we had slept for a while, and woke up sweaty from sleeping against each other. I had turned on my side during our nap, facing the other way, and woken up with Jasper spooning me. His cock was hard and ready against my ass. Of course, I fucked him again. The neighbors certainly knew that since his hands gripped the headboard, making it bang on the wall with each of my thrusts. I managed to make him say 'fuck' twelve times before he came, and he said it a few more times after that because he knew how much of a turn-on it was for me. He also did his little ass dance, and fuck, just thinking about it made me hard again. Then we took a quick shower and rushed to meet Bex and Emmett.

They were still there, waiting for us and Bex welcomed us with a "Hallelujah! My boy has been thoroughly fucked!"

I chuckled at her words. "What you just said is wrong on so many levels, Bex. But yeah, true."

She gave us a big smile. "Who cares? That needs to be celebrated with drinks!" Then she turned to Emmett who was shaking his head. "You were right, Batman has been fucked."

Emmett laughed. "Why Batman?"

Before Jasper and I could speak, Bex piped up again. "That's a mystery. Batman, Bruce, Alfred...just get used to it." She sent Jasper and me a wink and turned around, taking Emmett's arm and forcing him to start walking. He just laughed it off and went with it.

The ride there didn't last more than ten minutes but Bex found the time to ask hundreds of questions. Neither Jasper nor I would answer, but I was sure she'd ask again soon enough.

Emmett waved at some people when we entered the bar, and we followed him to one of the empty tables. It wasn't too crowded but there were still a lot of patrons. The ambience was really laid back, and the bar was noisy, mostly due to laughter exploding here and there. The whole back of the bar was taken up by pool tables, and Bex clearly seemed interested by them.

I was seated between Jasper and Emmett, which left Bex nearly right across from me; she was grinning at me, certainly waiting for me to cave and say something. The waiter came to take our order, shots of vodka and the bottle, of course, Bex had been adamant about that.

"So, Edward, how was it? I'd ask Jasper but he's clearly too lost in his post-coital bliss."

Jasper groaned next to me and Emmett laughed, looking at me expectantly.

"Really, Bex?"

"Well, I don't want details, yet. Just tell me if you had a good time!"

I shook my head, my eyes still on her. There was only one way to make her stop her questioning. "It was fantastic. I loved every minute of it, but right this moment I'm only thinking about one thing: fucking Jasper again, or asking him to do this thing he does with his tongue when-"

Just then the waiter came back with our drinks. If Emmett was laughing loudly, Jasper wasn't, as expected, which didn't escape Bex's notice. She stopped her questioning, keeping it for another time, I guessed.

"Ah, well, I'm happy you had fun! Let's drink now." She picked up her glass and added, "You'll have to tell me about that tongue trick, boy." Then she emptied her glass.

I was about to pick mine up when Emmett spoke. "Hey, what happened to your wrist?"

Jasper chuckled and we all looked at my wrist which was red, then I turned it around to show the clear indentations. "Nothing. I fell on Jasper's teeth."

They all burst into laughter, but I only smiled and drank from my glass.

Bex looked at Jasper and made a sound akin to a 'rawr'. Emmett guffawed again. "Wow, your road trip must be something else!"

"Uhm, yeah. I don't think she'll ever tire of teasing me."

Jasper was probably right on that, but he knew she'd do anything for him.

"Boy, that's not what I call teasing. But tell me, any news on the 'Kinky Butler Sex' front?"

That reminded me that we still had to talk it through. It had been clear in the car earlier that he was keeping some things to himself. I'd have to ask him later tonight. Jasper sent me a 'help me' look right then.

"You're making puppy dog eyes at me again, Bruce."

"Well, it worked last time!"

I snorted. "Bex, you'll know soon enough."

"I hope I will!" Then she looked at Emmett. "Doesn't 'Kinky Butler Sex' intrigue you?"

"Bex!" Jasper had put his forehead on my shoulder, and from the vibrations I was feeling he must have been groaning, too. I stroked his back, but the motion didn't comfort him, since I was laughing.

"I'm not sure I want to know, to tell you the truth." Emmett refilled our glasses as he spoke, and all drank them at the same time. He glanced at Jasper, and probably deciding to change the topic for his sake, asked Bex, "Up for a game of pool? Do you know how to play?"

That made Jasper perk up. "Dude, you have to stop asking her questions like that. She'll end up kicking your ass!"

Emmett raised his hands. "Okay, okay, sorry. We can team up. Who's with me?"

"Edward."

I gazed at Jasper. "You don't want to team up with me, Bruce? I'm hurt!" He didn't answer right away, only shaking his head as he stood up. Bex was the only one to pick up her glass and the bottle; the rest of us had enough so we ordered beers before heading to the pool table.

Emmett and Bex were ahead of us when Jasper turned around, stopping me.

"We're going to kick your ass, but don't worry. I'll make it up to you." Then he got closer and licked his lips.

"Bruce has come out to play, I see." I kissed him, not making a huge show of it, but stayed very close to him. "I'll remind you of that later, and you better deliver."

He opened his mouth but nothing came out. I guessed he was gone again. I stepped aside, chuckling and trailed my hand across his chest, making sure to graze both nipples as I walked away. He closed his eyes and whimpered; I left him there and joined the others at the table.

Emmett watched Jasper in silence. "What is he doing?"

"I believe he's thinking about my cock." I picked up a cue. "Who starts?"

"Well, we need Jasper to play!"

Bex called his name loudly, and he turned around swiftly. The look on his face was priceless, a mixture of lust and surprise, probably because it had just dawned on him that we were still in the bar. He picked up a cue, too. "I'm starting."

"Hey, shouldn't you let the lady start?" Bex frowned at him, one hand on the table and the other on her hip.

He didn't even look at her before he answered. "There's no 'lady' here, Bex. You're the first one to mention it."

She waved a hand, laughing, and stepped back from the table. "Damn, he knows me too well!"

Once the balls were set on the table, Jasper slowly bent over to place his hands and cue before shooting. He did it in the same manner as earlier in the bathroom, never taking his eyes off of me. "We take the striped balls."

He didn't even seem to look where he was aiming. He kept his eyes on me, wriggled his ass and shot, breaking the balls on the table. He sent two of the striped balls into different pockets, and another three ended up very well placed. Okay, that was damn hot, and not just because of his position; Bruce kicked ass at pool! He'd never cease to amaze me.

Jasper turned around the table, his gazed still locked on mine and stopped in front of me. "You're going down."

"Fuck, you're making me hard, Bruce. _You_ are the one who'll be going down later."

He looked at my crotch, my hard-on clearly defined through my pants. I was ready to kiss him again, not caring about who was around, when Bex spoke up.

"I can't believe I'm the one saying this, but can we play now? It's probably the only chance I'll get to play with balls tonight!"

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><p><strong><em>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<em>**


	10. Your turn, Batman

_**A Huge thank you to Dariachenowith, Chrissy and WendyK for being so wonderful! A big thanks to Kgq for her help this week!**_

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><p><strong>Thank YOU for your wonderful reviews! You rock! And I'm a little bit in love with you, now.<strong>

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><p><em>Disclaimer: If there's a prostate, then it's not Twilight.<em>

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><p><em><strong>Jasper<strong>_

I'd always thought that the game of Pool must have been invented by a group of sex addicts who loved bad puns. After five games, I was convinced that Bex must have been one of that bunch. Okay, I had always thought that when I'd played with her before, but tonight it was even clearer. Maybe it was the vodka, or the fact that of the two of us, she seemed to be the happiest that Edward and I had finally ducked.

That wasn't really true because no one was happier than I was. Or more satisfied. Or, darn, hornier because Edward was in position to shoot, and I really wanted to be between him and that pool table. I had been teasing him all through our games, but it looked like it was turning me on more than him.

'Looked like' being the key words. Getting to know Edward these last few days and our time in the motel room earlier had taught me a thing or two about him. The main thing I'd learned was that he wasn't the type of person to show how distracted he was when he was picturing me bent over the pool table –and I knew that was exactly what he was doing right now- well, okay, I knew that because he had told me. Still, I had studied him while we were playing, and I was sure I could now spot most of the moments where he had me naked in his head.

At least I wasn't the only one in this lust daze. The fact that I couldn't hide it to save my life just made the three of them tease me incessantly. Emmett didn't do it often, but he did do it nonetheless. I was still staring at Edward's ass when he spoke to Bex.

"What are we playing for this time?"

Emmett and Edward hadn't played too badly up to now but Bex drinking like she had wasn't helping us win either. And even if they didn't play as well as us, they knew very well how to distract us; Bex and I were weak when it came to their teasing but no one could expect me to play well when Edward was kissing my neck or stroking my ass! Maybe fifteen years down the road I'd be able to, but for now I just wanted us to fu-duck until we dropped dead. Dang I was horny, and I was still staring at his ass, not really listening to Bex's answer.

"If Jasper and I win, we're all going to the gay club I saw on the way here."

"Oh, so I win anyway?" Edward laughed. I could understand why, the losers had been paying for the drinks until now, but going to a gay club was more like a reward. I didn't hear what was going to happen if they won because I was distracted, picturing Edward and me in this gay club and all the things we could do there.

This bar was nice, but while no one had bugged us, they were still prompt to send disapproving glares our way each time Edward and I kissed. Clearly not the kind of place where I could put my hand down his pants, that's for sure, which was a shame because his cock deserved a lot of attention, preferably from my mouth. Emmett's voice brought me back from my musing, although I would have preferred to picture Edward's cock a bit longer.

"You want to go The Rainbow? I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Are you worried about ruining your reputation, Emmett?" Bex said in a teasing tone, but I knew what was behind it. "Don't tell me homosexuality is a problem for you."

Emmett laughed somewhat bitterly. "No. I'm not worried about that." He took a gulp of beer and added, "There's not much to ruin anyway. But you, on the other hand, I'm afraid you're going to molest the guys you cross paths with once you're there!"

I wondered what he meant about his reputation but cracked up at his comment about Bex. He hadn't spent that much time with us, but he already knew what she was capable of. Okay, I didn't really think she'd molest anyone, but knowing her, she could get them to agree to let her feel them up.

"That's settled then. We're going!"

"Whoa, wait Bex, you haven't won yet."

What? No. No. Edward was cockblocking his own cock! And his cock was mine, well, fine, it was mine in my head, but still. Club equal my hand in his pants, and yeah, the rest, too. Although, I guess going back to our room meant some great things, too, but the club sounded good, and there were a lot of things the club had that our room didn't, like people and uhm, yeah, people!

"Your turn, Batman." Edward spoke into my ear and it made me shiver. He started kissing my neck, uttering 'your turn' each time his lips left my skin. Why did his lips have to leave my skin? Uh. Playing pool. Alright.

I moved closer to the table to see what he had done with the balls, and he followed me.

"Oh no, Alfred. You're not playing your little game of 'let's make Jasper lose his attention'. Step back."

He smiled brightly at me and raised both hands before taking two steps back. Dang, he had a nice smile. "Stop looking at me!" Yeah, it was childish but I wanted to win and go to the club, and he was staring at me on purpose. Possibly. He chuckled and shook his head before turning around. That wasn't good either, darn it! Now I was looking at his ass.

Emmett laughed loudly. "Can you please get on with it? Stop looking at him and play!"

"Yes, boy, as much as it hurts me to say it: stop looking at his ass and play." Bex gulped her vodka before filling her glass again. I didn't know how she could still stand after all she had drunk; that woman was a force of nature. I finally took my shot but my head wasn't really in the game. Now it was Emmett's turn.

Just as he was ready to shoot, Bex shouted, "So, Emmett, what do you think about rimming?"

Emmett startled by her question missed his shot; the ball just bounced on the table before rolling slowly, not even touching a band.

"Hey! If I'm not allowed to get close to Bruce to distract him, you can't do it either, Bex!" Edward's tone was disapproving but he couldn't keep from chuckling.

"Well, I didn't think he would lose his focus over that." Her tone was way too innocent to be believable, plus Edward had seen her play poker.

"Yeah, yeah sure, Bex. Your turn."

Bex turned around the table and took her position before looking at Emmett. "You never answered me." Then she took her shot and put three balls in. "So?"

Edward got closer to Emmett. "You know that if you don't answer her, she'll never stop asking, right?"

"No. I thought if I ignored it she'd find something else to talk about."

I had to laugh at that. When he looked at me I shook my head, agreeing with what Edward had just said.

"Uhm, I don't know, Bex. I can't say I've ever done it, and no one has ever ah, done it to me." He groaned then asked Edward and me, "Seriously, how do you two handle her?"

Edward clapped him on the back. "You just answer, Emmett, and if it's something you really can't talk about for whatever reason, she'll let it go."

"Yeah, and anyway, her question about rimming shouldn't be that difficult to answer." Emmett sent me a surprised look and I went on, "I've known her for years. Can you imagine the kind of conversations we've had? But she genuinely wants to know, and she'll never use anything against you, unless it's to drown you in embarrassment."

"You're so mean, Bruce. Don't listen to him, Emmett." Then Edward added, "I personally love rimming."

That's when I dropped my cue on the floor. Apparently I couldn't hold it and think about what Edward had just said at the same time. Darn him! I would never be able to focus on the game now. He looked at me, wiggling his eyebrows. Oh yeah, he knew exactly what that would do to me. And, as if I didn't already have enough porn filling my brain, Bex asked him,

"Doing it or getting it?"

Both. He had to say, both. It was both, right?

"Both, but I particularly like when it's done to me."

He looked straight at me while he spoke. I gulped and tried to pull on my pants a bit because it was getting really uncomfortable. Well, he liked to play with plugs, so it shouldn't surprise me. And I wasn't surprised, I was just so effing horny!

I would have played like an ass, but while we were having a discussion about rimming, Bex had finished the game. It wasn't a shock to Edward or me, but Emmett wasn't used to her.

"How did she do that?"

"How did I do that? I kick ass, young man, and you can wipe that surprised look off of your face. It's insulting."

She was waving her cue in front of his face, and he took a step back to avoid getting hit. "I didn't mean to be insulting! I'm just- Oh fuck, whatever, let's go to that club so you can look at dicks."

Bex looked at us and pointed her thumb at Emmett, who was standing behind her. "He's a fast learner."

We laughed and Edward put his arm around my neck before replying "I reckon he is. What do you think Bruce?"

"He's good, now if only he would stop being embarrassed at talking about rimming, he'd be great."

"You three are so weird." He shook his head and smiled. "Are we going now? You can tell me all that I'm missing by not doing that rimming thing on our way there."

Bex patted his cheek. "Aw, you want to learn." Then she addressed us. "He wants to learn!"

Edward glanced at me. "He's really good."

I patted his ass. "I already said he was."

Emmett turned around. "So. Weird."

Bex took his arm and started explaining something I wasn't sure I wanted to know about while they were walking towards the doors. We watched him nod his head at whatever she was telling him, and laughed at the strange pair they made. Edward started to follow them but I stopped him and pushed him against the pool table.

"I'm really happy Bex won that game." I stepped closer to him as I spoke.

He grinned. "I wonder why."

I looked around to be sure no one was paying attention; but really there was always someone paying attention, so I went ahead anyway and stroked his cock through his pants and kissed him under the chin before speaking close to his ear.

I wasn't sure if it would have the same effect that it had on me, but it couldn't hurt to try. "Because you promised me that your cock would be in my mouth tonight." He took a deep breath and gulped. "And my tongue really wants to play, too."

I removed my hand from his crotch and took a step back. Edward didn't move and was watching me, open-mouthed. Then he sagged against the pool table a little before pushing himself off it.

"Fuck, Bruce, you're hot when you're demanding." He put his hand on my waist and kissed me before we walked out of the bar.

"Mugging old ladies now, McCarty?"

Two guys were talking to Emmett when we stepped outside. At first I thought it was a friendly conversation but the way Edward froze told me it wasn't. I don't know how he picked up on things like that so quickly. Bex didn't seem to know what was going on, and Emmett didn't look fazed by the guy's words. He stayed silent for a second, then took Bex's hand and started leading her to the car before the same two guys stopped them.

"You should be careful about the company you keep, ma'am. That one is up to no good, if you know what I mean." Edward placed himself near Bex, and I moved next to Emmett while the guy was talking. He looked at us and sneered. "Some people have no common sense. Have you decided to pounce on tourists, now?"

He and his friend snickered as if they'd shared a good joke.

"I don't think I understand what you're saying, but one thing is for sure, I don't like your attitude. And who are you calling old?"

Emmett tried to pull Bex towards the car again but she wasn't budging, and stared at the unknown guys with a heavy glare.

"Calm down little lady, we're just trying to warn you. That guy is bad news; I'm sure he didn't tell you he did time in prison."

I glanced at Emmett, who was looking at the ground. It was clear he was trying not to react. I suspected it wasn't the first time he'd had this type of confrontation. Before anyone could say anything, Bex asked him,

"Is it true?"

Emmett seemed resigned and defeated at the same time. "Yes."

"Where and how long?"

I really wanted to punch those pricks; they were enjoying what was happening.

"The state prison here, for three years."

The guys were waiting for us to bail, but Bex had another question. "What level?"

Emmett's head shot up and he looked at her, surprised. "Minimum I, why?"

"Hah! I win!"

Edward gazed at Bex then at me. Yeah, not my story to tell. Emmett looked half- lost and half- baffled, and the two guys were frowning, not really getting why we hadn't just left Emmett already.

"What?" Count on Edward to voice what everybody was thinking.

"I did eight years in North Carolina, close and medium level. I win!" She took a step closer to the guys. "Do you want me to show you what I learned there, dickheads?"

Apparently the 'dickheads' didn't want to know because one was pulling the other towards the bar and he wasn't resisting very much. The fact that three grown men were siding with her must have helped.

"I, ah, okay, that's new. I've never gotten that kind of reaction before." Emmett shook his head. "You really did time or you were just saying that?"

"I'm sure you're dying to know." Edward and Emmett nodded at her. "Who knows? Now, I won that game, and I want my reward." She turned around and walked to the car.

"You can't leave it at that!"

Oh, Emmett still had some things to learn about Bex. Edward gazed at me.

"You're not going to tell me if she did or not, right?"

"Exactly. If you want to know something, you'll have to ask her, Alfred."

We all got in the car, Edward and I in the back and Bex and Emmett in the front. Emmett was going to drive since he hadn't had much to drink. Before he started the car, he turned and looked at each of us, one after the other.

"You aren't going to ask me what I did to end up in prison?"

Edward shook his head. "I'm more interested in knowing what Bex did to end up there."

"Maybe I'll tell you one day, Edward." Then Bex smiled at Emmett and patted his shoulder. "I can tell by your level that you didn't do anything awful anyway."

I was curious to know what he had done. But if being friends with Bex had taught me one thing, it was not to judge people on these kinds of things, so I just shrugged.

Emmett opened his mouth a few times but in the end only shook his head. He still didn't start the car, though and Edward had to call his name.

"Sorry. It's just you're so..."

"Weird. I know, you've told me that a few times already." Edward stroked my neck as he was talking. As much as I liked Emmett, I really wished he would finally start the car; there was a club waiting for us.

"No, I was going to say cool." Emmett smiled at us and I think Bex swooned a little. Clearly she was drunk. Dang, I hope it was because she was drunk.

The Rainbow was really close to our motel; I hadn't seen it on our way to the bar, but if you didn't know it was a club you could miss it. The inside, on the other hand, was 'colorful', the complete opposite of the club Edward had brought me to the other night. There were half-naked guys dancing on every available surface and ah, not just half-naked. Who knew Billings was so wild?

Bex looked like a kid in a candy store and Emmett was laughing at her expression. I glanced at Edward, and he looked as though this sort of scene wasn't his cup of tea. I couldn't say I craved it either, but at least here I didn't feel like someone would start insulting me for kissing a guy.

"Drinks!" Bex was already making her way to the bar, patting any available ass on her way there.

After our drinks were served, Bex teased Emmett endlessly for not drinking alcohol. He had some good comebacks, but I didn't really care. I wasn't here to listen to them banter. I gulped my vodka down and motioned for Edward to do the same, then ordered two more.

"Have fun!" I took Edward's hand and started pulling him away from the bar.

"What? Where are you going?"

"Oh, you don't want to know, Emmett. We'll meet you two here later."

Bex laughed at my words and shouted, "Yay! That's my boy!"

Then her attention moved to the guy who took my place at the bar and she started talking to him. I wouldn't want to be Emmett right now. Bex was probably being her natural lewd self. I gripped Edward's hand and walked through the crowd of people there. If this was like other clubs, I knew I'd find what I was looking for.

A few people bumped into us, and we got separated, but I could still see Edward on my left, so I kept trying to move through the crowd. On the way, one of the guys caught me by the waist, pulling me against him, and I ended with vodka all over my neck and chest. Dang, I'd managed not to drop the glass or spill anything until then. Of course I'd end up with it all over me. I tried to get out of the guy's grip but that only made me grind against his pants, so I stopped. I wasn't in the mood to grind against an unknown cock. The guy must have taken it as an invitation because the next thing he did was kiss me. I closed my mouth and pushed on his shoulders but that didn't work, darn him!

"How come every time we're in a club together you end up kissing some guy?"

The guy stopped at the sound of Edward's voice, but kept me flush against him.

"I never kiss anyone, guys kiss _me_! A little help here?"

Edward tapped the guy's shoulder. "Could you stop trying to kiss my boyfriend?"

The look on Edward's face made the guy remove his hands really quickly. "Sorry, I didn't know." Then he smiled and added "You can't blame me. Your boyfriend is hot."

"Uh huh," was Edward's only answer, so the guy finally took his cue and left.

"Boyfriend, eh?"

His eyebrows shot up. "Would you rather just be my fuck buddy?" I shook my head. He put his arm around my shoulder and made me walk forward. "I didn't think so, either."

That was all he said. I really wanted to be in his head for one day, things there seemed to be so simple. I guess I had a boyfriend. Yeah, as if I'd ever be against being Edward's boyfriend. I guessed it would have killed the mood if I had done a little dance. Dang, I really wanted to!

"Bruce?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"You're still here?"

"Yeah, I'm trying not to dance."

"You- What?"

"Nothing." Just then I spotted what I was looking for. "Come on, it's time for your cock to see some action."

"Fuck, I love it when you say cock, Bruce."

This part of the club was L-shaped with tables and seats in the middle, and banquette seating running along the walls. There weren't many people, as most guys preferred more privacy, or were there to dance. Nothing really obvious was going on either, half the guys were just drinking and chatting. But if you paid attention it was clear that some were long past the talking stage, and I had chosen a place to sit not far from one of those couples.

My imagination had run wild since the day Edward had told me about his kink, and even though I was here to indulge in one of mine, I still wanted to be there for his, too. His arm was still over my shoulder and he turned his head to kiss my neck, his kiss quickly becoming a lick. I heard him mutter 'mhhmm, vodka'.

Yeah, things wouldn't end up going according to plan if he kept that up. Not that I was against it, far from it, but based on the discussion we'd had in the car, I think some things needed to be said. Although, knowing him there probably weren't a lot of things he didn't already know about me where kink was concerned; I'm not the most discreet person and he had an uncanny ability to read people. At least through the way they acted.

"Stop your inner conversation, Jasper." He obviously didn't need an answer because he started kissing me, both his hands gripping my head. One of his hands then trailed down along my back, he pulled me closer to him, never breaking the kiss. A whimper escaped me, which made him chuckle, darn him! Kissing someone while I was laughing was impossible. He started licking the vodka off my neck again, but kept going lower. When he started pulling on my shirt, I stopped him. Not that I really wanted him to stop, but he could do that anywhere, contrary to those two guys in front of us who wouldn't be there forever.

"What, Bruce?"

I motioned to said guys. One of them was on a chair. He had long hair and a strange piercing under his lower lip, and the other, a short, red-haired guy, was kneeling between his legs, his mouth working on the pierced guy's cock. He wasn't only sucking the guy; his own pants were open and he was actively pumping his cock, too.

I didn't spend much time looking at them, what had my interest was Edward. He glanced at me for a second, giving me a knowing grin and went back to watching them. When he slid down slightly to make himself comfortable, I opened his pants and freed his cock. I swear I saw the light using one of the lube packets - one of the ones I'd cleverly stolen from the club back in Seattle- I fisted his cock and whispered in his ear,

"Show me."

Edward put his hand over mine and made me grip his cock tighter, then still guiding me, started moving our hands with long, slow strokes. I don't know how he could bear such a slow rhythm. It would have driven me crazy. His free hand trailed lazily on his body, and I watched every move he made, entranced. Each seemed to enhance his pleasure and after a few minutes I could easily spot those places, so I swatted his hand away and replaced it with mine.

He was still moving our hands on his cock and began to stroke faster. He pulled me to him with his free arm and kissed me slowly, our tongues touching. Our lips barely did as he was breathing fast and would let a gasp out from time to time. A loud noise interrupted our kissing and we watched as Red-Haired Guy straddled Pierced Guy; one of the chairs had fallen on the floor, probably when he'd stood up. Without any hesitation he sank onto Pierced Guy's cock, his gaze locked on us.

Edward's cock twitched as he watched them fuck, and mine did, too, but it was more because Red-Haired Guy was watching us with an appreciative smile. I turned in my seat a little and put one of my legs under me, my other foot flat on the floor. I took my hand off of Edward's cock -which forced him to let go of it, too -and replaced it with my mouth. The position was far from comfortable, but I had wanted to do that all night.

I felt more than heard Edward moan and it spurred me on. He placed his hands on my head, but didn't set a rhythm, but fuck, I really wanted him to. There was nothing more exciting than a hand on your head, guiding you, while you were sucking a cock. I motioned for him to do it, and the next second my lips were nearly on his balls. Edward forced me to make quick strokes, and each time would push my head the farthest he could. I breathed through my nose when my lips were around his head and then would sink down again. Shit, I loved how is cock felt in my mouth.

After a while he changed the motion, making me only suck on his head and barely past it. I used short and quick strokes and a swipe of my tongue on each on the way down. Edward's cock was uncut and I reckon that was why he was so sensitive to my little tongue trick. He would buck his hips each time I did it and I felt every groan and moan he made.

I glanced at Red-Haired guy who was bouncing on Pierced Guy's cock; he had his hands on the back of the chair for leverage, his head was back but he was still watching us. His cock was rubbing on Pierced Guy's torso, leaving trails of pre cum all over his abs. Then he sped up his motion a look of pure bliss on his face as he came.

Edward's grip on my head tightened and I felt his cum on my tongue. I swallowed the best I could but some leaked along my chin and his cock. He finally pushed my head down all the way and I felt some more cum trickling down my throat.

Edward released me, then slowly licked his cum as it trailed down my chin and neck before kissing me. One of his hands snaked under my right leg and he lifted it to make me straddle him. He kissed me again, his hand stroking my back and ass, then he pulled me to him so our chests were flush. If it hadn't been for the hard-on in my pants I could have stayed there a while. Being cuddled by Edward was number one on my list of favorite things to do. Okay, maybe second, but really close to first.

"I'm not going to fuck you here, you know that, right?"

"Uh, I wasn't expecting you to, but okay." I had thought about it, and alright that was one of the things I hoped we would do sometime soon. But I knew it wouldn't be today.

"I know you want me to. I saw how you reacted when those guys were watching you suck my cock. I wasn't sure before, but I am now."

"Did it bother you? That they were watching, I mean."

He laughed, making us jolt in the process. "No, it didn't. Plus I was watching them, but you know that since you're the one that brought me here."

"Ah, yeah I did, I wanted to see Kinky Edward in action."

"Well, I saw Kinky Jasper in action, too. Very hot I might add."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. Still, I'm not going to fuck you here."

He laughed again and I slapped his shoulder. "I'm not asking you to fuck me here."

"Ooh, Bruce said fuck!" Then he became serious. "Good, because I won't. I'm not saying I won't ever do it, I'm just saying that we need to clear up some shit first before anything can go awry and we wonder when it went wrong later."

"A man with a plan? And just so you know, I'm hard as hell and I'm sitting on you. Of course I'm going to say fuck."

He stroked my cheek and threaded his fingers through my hair. "I do think that a conversation is in order. Yes, I'm sure nothing you could say would make me run, because even without saying anything you talk pretty loudly, Jasper, and I believe I know the extent of what you're going to tell me." I looked at him, wide-eyed, and he kissed me, then laughed. "Except maybe for the Kinky Butler Sex, but I'm pretty sure I'd enjoy that, too. Well, if you ever tell me what it is."

Honestly, I didn't doubt him; plus I knew he was right about that conversation. My brain was swamped with all of the things we could possibly do together and I felt my cock twitch. More than that, if what he said was true, then I had found my match, and that was a fucking miracle. My eyes were locked on his and he watched me, smiling. Shit, I wasn't _just_ falling for him anymore; clearly I had passed that point now.

"Bruce?"

I kissed him a few times then fisted my hands in his hair and pulled his head back. I licked and kissed him from his jaw line to his shoulder, then I bit him. I loved biting him. He jumped and his arms tightened around my waist.

"Let's go to the motel. I really need you to fuck me. Then we'll work on that rimming that you love so much."

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><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<strong>_


	11. Now talk, Batman

_**Thank you to Dariachenowith and Chrissy for being there for me, and to WendyK for her great beta work!**_

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><p><strong>Thank YOU for your encouragement and support! I'm humbled by your kind and witty words, you all rock and I love reading your thoughts! (My chars will travel, as you know, so feel free to share with me where you live and what you love about your state! -for the ones living in the US, obviously!-) <strong>

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><p><em>Disclaimer: sometimes a tongue is enough. <em>

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><p><em><strong>Edward<strong>_

I'd have loved to sleep in, but sadly Jasper must have thought it was a good time to bite my ass. I didn't think he even realized how much he liked doing it. Keeping my eyes closed, I pushed his head with my right hand; and he bit that, too. I heard him chuckle, then felt his mouth on my lower back.

"Bruce."

"Yes, Alfred?"

"Stop it."

"But we never got to the rimming part last night!"

That was true. "Because you asked me to fuck you, which I did, then you fell asleep. Now let me sleep."

I wasn't against what he was proposing, and honestly, I was hard and ready, but while the rimming hadn't happened last night, neither had our conversation. When we'd gone back to the main bar, Bex and Emmett were gone. They had left a message for us, at least Emmett had, telling us he was taking Bex back to her room and was taking the car. He had added a sort of drawing explaining how to get back to the motel, and it didn't take us long to walk there, although Jasper still thought it was too long. Horny fucker.

To his credit, he had given me a great orgasm in the club, and I could understand how he'd be worked up from it. I had never had anyone indulge me in my kink before, but he had. Knowing him it wasn't completely surprising, but it was still pleasant, to say the least. Right now, though, we needed to have 'that' conversation, and it was sad because rimming sounded really good to me.

"Bruce, stop it."

"Why?"

"Seriously, you're whining?"

"Maybe?"

_Maybe? _"You _are_ whining. Now that you woke me, speak up." I felt his mouth leave my skin and he changed position. Next, he was in my line of vision, sitting with his back against the headboard. I look up at his face but his eyes never met mine; he stared at the sheets and at something on the walls but never at me. Ah, uneasy and self-conscious, okay, I could work with that. Trust wasn't something that developed in only a few days. "You already know about my kink. Talk to me, Bruce." I hoped that using my nickname for him would help him open up to me.

"Ah, I don't know where to start."

"Start with what you need."

"Well, that's the thing. I don't always need it, I just, uhm, crave it once in a while."

I finally turned on my side, replacing the pillow under my head so I could look at him without hurting my neck. "It's the same thing, Jasper. I don't need to go watch people fuck every week, but I miss it after a while, and then I will need to do it." He groaned and I watched his limp cock getting hard. Such a horny fucker. "Now tell me about you."

His cock became limper, even if it wasn't completely flaccid. I could see that this conversation was stressful for him.

He let out a breath and rubbed his face with his hands. "I like when someone, or ah, people watch me, like last night." He grimaced, still avoiding my eyes. "A hand job, a blow job, or, ah, more. Whether it's me getting it or giving it, I get off on that."

He finally locked gazes with me and relaxed slightly when he saw that I wasn't judging him for what he had just told me. I would have kept quiet until he was finished with everything he had to say, but he looked way too stressed for me to do that. Knowing Jasper, he'd go crazy trying to understand what my silence meant.

"Yeah, I knew that already. It wasn't hard to guess." I chuckled and he gave me a small smile, still waiting for what I had to say. "I don't mind. I've never really been turned on by someone watching me, and honestly I'm still not, but I enjoyed last night twice as much _because_ I knew it turned you on. I don't think it will ever be a problem."

Jasper closed his eyes and nodded his head, clearly relieved but still very tense. He looked at me hopefull; I knew he wasn't finished so I motioned for him to continue. He turned his head, avoiding my gaze again before continuing.

"I, ah, like threesomes." He scrunched up his eyes then added quickly. "Not always, not all the time, I just- Darn it." He huffed. "I love threesomes. Not that I've had a lot in my life, but enough to know I can't go years without."

His eyes were still scrunched up as if he was waiting for me to start laughing, or yelling. Fuck knows what was going on in his head right now.

"Jasper." He didn't move or respond, so I tried again. "Bruce!" He opened his eyes but still didn't look at me, only letting me know he was listening. "That's the kind of thing that will have to wait."

He swiftly turned his head towards me and finally looked me in the eyes. "But you're not put off by it?"

I laughed. "Nope. Threesomes are cool, but they're easier when none of the participants is in a relationship. I've seen countless couples torn apart by them, because once the threesome is over and they stop being driven by lust, then it's just the two of them again. And if things weren't good between them to start with, it just makes things go awry."

"Not that I want one now, but things are good between us. No?"

Ah. I guess I needed to spell it out for him, then. "They're good, but not threesome good. Trust is the basis for everything and we're not there, yet." He frowned so I went on. "You can't even look at me while you're telling me about your kinks, Jasper. Afraid that I'll bolt or whatever; you can't tell me that you trust me or are sure of what my reactions would be."

He shook his head. "Yeah, you're right."

"I know." He chuckled and slapped my shoulder, but I kept going. "Being sure of the other. Never having to second guess. Trust. That's the only way things like that can work. And you, Bruce, are the type to wonder about everything. It would drive you mad."

He sighed. "It would." Then he glanced at me and asked playfully, "But you're not against it? In the long run, I mean?"

"Can't say I am. But in time, and not carelessly."

"Oh, wow."

"What?"

He took a moment before answering; I guessed he was having an inner conversation again. "I was pretty sure you'd be put off by it, or would tell me you couldn't go on with our relationship. I swear I've pictured everything bad you could say in my head. "

"To be honest, I knew it might be a possibility, Bruce."

"Why am I not surprised?" He threw his arms in the air, then clapped his knees. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." I laughed and let my hand trail down his arm. "It made sense, what with your love of being watched. It's not always the case, but hey, it goes well with me enjoying watching. I could count it as another kink of mine."

His eyebrows shot up and he opened and closed his mouth a few times. Then he caught my hand in his and stroked my fingers, eyeing me carefully. Oh. He wasn't done; how many kinks did he have? I smiled encouragingly but stayed silent. After a minute or two of pondering, he finally spoke. It was a good thing because I wouldn't have let him get away with it.

"I'm- I have never tried it really, because I've never dared ask or tell the guys I was with before, but I -" He cleared his throat and tapped his finger on his left thigh. "I really want my, ah, boyfriend to watch me suck another guy."

He said the last part very quickly, and I almost didn't catch it. "I gather you don't see that as being part of a threesome?" He shook his head and his hand released mine. Yup, trust wasn't a done deal yet. "I don't know about that, Jasper."

He avoided my gaze, and moved. He didn't sit any farther from me but righted himself and crossed his legs. "So that's a deal breaker?"

"I didn't say that, I'm only telling you what I think. And right now, I don't know if it's something I'd like, want or can do."

"Oh."

"'Oh?' Care to expand on that?"

Jasper played with the corner of my pillow but stayed silent. I let him work it out and waited until he was ready to talk. When he did, it was with a shaky voice.

"I don't want you to give up on us because of that."

_Aww, Bruce_. "I didn't say that, either, Jasper."

He locked eyes with me. "But that guy you told me about, the one with the daddy kink-"

I cut him off then because he was mixing everything up. "That's not the same thing, Bruce. He wanted something I couldn't give him _at all._ And anyway, he needed to find an older guy, much older than me. Even if it hadn't bothered me to go with it, he would have realized that. I think he was still a bit lost when it came to what he needed." I poked him with a finger, and he squirmed. "You, on the other hand, want something that is really close to the things I need _and_ can handle. I just don't know if it's something I want. We'll have to wait and see. If it happens to be something I really can't do, then we'll deal with it when the time comes. Anyway, you've never done it, right?" He nodded and I added, "Then you don't really know how you'd react, either. I'm not saying that's the case here, but there's a difference between what we fantasize about and what we can really handle doing . But as I said, we can only wait and see."

I smiled at him and this time he relaxed completely, sliding down the bed until he was lying next to me, mirroring my position. "So, you're okay with all this?"

"I am. "

"You're so kinky, Alfred." He moved closer to kiss me, then leaned back again.

"So are you, Bruce. But there's one thing you didn't explain, yet." He frowned, so I added, "What the fuck is Kinky Butler Sex?"

Jasper groaned and turned onto his stomach, hiding his face in his hands. The motion brought him closer to me, his side flush against my front, and I put my arms over his back to clap his shoulders.

"Come on! You just told me you wanted me to watch you suck another guy, and you play shy about _that_?"

His voice was muffled by the pillow when he answered. "It's not the same thing. That was one of my weird inner scenarios; you shouldn't have even found out about it!"

"Oh, but I want to know about it, Bruce." I pushed on his shoulder until he was on his back, and I lay on top of him before he could move. I caught his hands in mine and put my elbows on either side of his head, pinning his arms above him. Our chests were flush together, my cock pushing on his and our legs entwined; he whimpered and bucked into me, making my cock harden. I nuzzled into his neck and spoke close to his ear. "Tell me." I felt his cock twitch and he moaned, squirming under me, seeking more friction.

He stayed silent so I moved, and sat next to him, my back against the headboard. His hands were still above his head, his breath ragged and his hard cock standing. He looked at me with his signature puppy-dog eyes, but I just picked up one of the lube packets from my nightstand and coated my cock with its contents.

I could have asked him seriously to tell me about what Kinky Butler Sex was, he would have answered but where was the fun in that? He'd also have to learn not to be embarrassed to share what he wanted with me. I closed my eyes and started stroking my cock slowly. It was hard to keep from smiling when I felt the bed dip slightly. I opened my eyes to see him on his knees in front of me, his eyes wide as saucers and full of lust.

"What are you doing?"

I moaned before answering, just to see him squirm. "I'm jerking off, Bruce. If you're not going to share, I'm not going to, either."

He blinked a few times, then whimpered.

"If you're ready to share, then that's another story. Are you?"

He nodded his head forcefully and I stopped my motion to grab a condom that I slowly unrolled on my cock. His eyes never left my crotch. I added some lube from the open packet, then pulled on one of his arms until he was straddling me, his ass just above my cock.

I put my already lubed hand between his legs and pushed two fingers into his asshole, fingering him slowly. "Now, what could it be, Bruce?" I finger fucked him faster, his moans getting louder, then retrieved my fingers to grab my cock and stroke the head against his hole but not pushing into him. He tried to slide down on it, but I kept him from doing so and he whimpered loudly.

"Tell me. That's the only way I'm going to let you sink down on my cock, Bruce, and I know how much you want it right now."

His hands gripped the headboard above my head and his gaze locked on mine. His lips were parted, his eyes hooded and his arms and legs were quivering. I had a hard time not pushing him down my shaft, but I managed to hold his gaze and keep a straight face. He finally spoke, his voice cracking.

"You're the mean, snotty Butler, and I - maybe I messed with your kitchen and you teach me a lesson."

I pushed the head of my cock inside his ass, which made him stop talking. I stopped moving again, and his head leaned back. He groaned. "You can't do that to me!"

I grinned, even if he couldn't see it. "I know there's more. Speak." Then I pushed him farther down on my cock. He moaned again but started speaking, his words often interrupted by gasps.

"You use things, kitchen things. Everything you can find."

He started moving, up and down, fucking himself on my cock, and I trailed my hands along his chest, pinching his nipples on the way. "Keep talking. What things?"

"I-wooden spoon-Fuck!- Big one. And Saran Wrap- Shit, Edward!"

Jasper was looking at me again, and I stroked his cock slowly. "What would I do with a wooden spoon and Saran Wrap, Bruce?" His cock twitched in my hand. I knew exactly what he meant, but hearing him say it was such a turn-on.

"Ah, fuck! - Spank me. Tie me up- Stroke my cock faster!" It had taken him a while to say those few words, his moans and lust getting in the way.

"Seems like there are some kinks you didn't tell me about, Bruce." My voice was steady and teasing, but the feeling of my cock in his ass, seeing him so turned on, and his words, made it really difficult not to let him have his way with me. I wanted to let him fuck himself harder on my cock and stroke his faster until I felt his cum on my skin and heard how many more times he'd say 'fuck'. He finally replied,

"No, I don't -Oh, fuck that feels good! - I don't like it much but this scenario just turns me on so much." He gasped and I felt his ass clench on me. I stroked him faster and he went on. "I want you to do that once. Tie me up, spank me, be-" _gasp, moan _"-all mean Alfred on me."

Fuck, I was so turned on. I grabbed his ass and pushed him harder on my cock, again and again. One of his hands left the headboard and I watched him stroke himself. His mouth was open, but no sound came out of it except his loud breathing. I kneaded his ass and leaned forward to catch one of his nipples in my mouth, sucking and biting on it. It still amazed me how sensitive he was, since I wasn't in the least. I heard him cuss loudly and then felt his cum on my chest. He clenched so hard around me, I almost came from it.

He kept moving above me, moaning and still cussing. I leaned back, enjoying the ride, but after a few thrusts he stopped and knelt in front of me again. I was going to tell him that, unlike him, I had yet to shoot my load, but he grabbed my legs and made me slide down the bed, before taking the condom off my cock.

Next thing I knew, Jasper's mouth was on my ass, and his tongue was licking my hole, while one of his hands stroked me exactly the way I had shown him last night. Fuck, Bruce was a fast learner. I was almost bent in two in this position. Even if I couldn't see him clearly, we could still look at each other, and it was a big turn-on. He wasn't trying to hide; he was intent on watching the effect he had on me.

I could feel his tongue lick up and down my asshole. But he was doing it too quickly for me to fully enjoy it, so I asked him to go more slowly but to apply more pressure, which he did. After a few minutes I was gone. I moaned loudly, my hands clenching on the pillow under my head, and I even let out a shout when I finally came, coating his hand and my abs. Shit, he was good.

He released my legs and cock and lay down next to me, his head on my shoulder. I couldn't really talk yet, since I was still catching my breath, but I laughed when we heard banging on the door.

"Get moving, boys! I'm starving!"

Jasper laughed with me. "I hope she wasn't listening."

"Fuck, I hope not! That would be too weird, even for us."

*.*.*

After showering, we joined Bex in the restaurant. She was already sitting at a table, talking with Emmett, who was working.

"Finally! I've created monsters!" The look on her face proved that she didn't mean a word of it. Jasper sat next to her and I, across from them.

"Yeah, yeah. Admit that you're weirdly proud of yourself right now, Bex."

"Damn right I am, Edward. Look at my boy! He is all happy and shit. I knew you'd be good for him." She patted his hand and Jasper looked at me, rolling his eyes.

Emmett was shaking his head at us. "Okay, what do you want to eat, crazy people? We have the brunch special. It's really good." We all nodded in agreement, and he wrote it down. Before he left, I asked him,

"Hey, Emmett, what happened last night?"

He guffawed. "You'd better ask Bex. I'll be back soon." Then he walked away to take someone else's order.

I looked at Bex, curious, waiting for her to explain. She continued drinking her coffee and acting like nothing was going on.

"Did you get lucky, Bex?" Jasper was wriggling his eyebrows and smiling at her.

"Don't be stupid, boy. It was a gay club. I don't think anyone there was interested in seeing my saggy boobs." Then she grinned and added, "But I got to see some fine specimens. Those men weren't shy, I can tell you!"

We laughed but I was still curious about what went down. "So what happened?"

"Emmett is fun. He doesn't want to touch any cocks, but he's fun!"

"Shit, no, I didn't want to touch any cocks!" Emmett was back at our table with coffee for Jasper and me. He looked at me then. "She almost made me palm one!"

Jasper and I chuckled at his words, and he asked "How?"

"She has an iron grip, I swear! She was touching some guy's junk through his pants and grabbed my hand saying 'Emmett you have to touch it. Cocks are wonderful!' I was so surprised that I didn't have a chance to pull my hand away in time!"

"You were palming a gay guy, Bex?" I hoped she had asked first. Poor guy.

"Of course I did! You can't expect me to go to a great place like that-" she got a dreamy look then, "- with so many cocks, and not touch." She pointed a finger at me. "That's just plain cruel, Edward."

Emmett must have followed my train of thought because he piped up then. "She asked nicely, though." He chuckled and added, "She told everyone that would listen that her 'boys' were somewhere in the club getting their kink on while she had to wait at the bar 'cockless', her word not mine, and that it had been so long since she had seen one that she probably didn't even know how what one looked like anymore."

I nearly spat my coffee out, laughing as I was.

"You can laugh, but I'm happy a few guys were willing to let her touch them because she was intent on making me drop my pants!"

"You were the only non-gay there. It made sense!" She turned to Jasper then. "I touched, but as you can guess, none of them got hard. Such a shame."

"No offense, Bex, but, ah, I wouldn't have gotten hard, either." Emmett chuckled, but it was clear he hoped he hadn't offended her.

Bex waved her hand. "That's okay, Emmett, don't worry. And I knew you wouldn't drop your pants, but it was so entertaining to make you squirm." She looked at me. "Emmett blushes! Something you never did."

Her tone was almost accusatory, but I knew she was still trying to tease him. She continued speaking. "Although, he never squirmed as much as he did when a guy felt his ass. You should have seen his face!"

I laughed loudly and looked at Emmett. "Really?"

"Hey, I was surprised, that's all. It's not every day a guy feels my ass and he had wandering fingers - I swear I felt them pushing along my crack."

I would have loved to have seen that. Even if it wasn't cool for Emmett, it was still really funny. "What did you do then?"

"I tried to explain that I wasn't interested, but that didn't faze him, and he kept coming on to me. And his hands were _everywhere._ I mean, a few guys tried to offer me a drink or more, but they went away when I told them I wasn't interested. But this guy? Dense, I tell you."

Jasper asked Bex, "Did you help him?" but she didn't have time to answer before Emmett did.

"She was too busy laughing her ass off!"

"Hey, I helped in the end." I looked at her and she chuckled, clearly remembering the scene. "I told him Emmett was my boy toy, and that he wasn't allowed to fuck anyone else but me."

"Then she told him that if he wanted her to, she would touch his junk. She had already attracted a crowd by then with her antics, and they were all laughing and cheering, but the guy bailed."

Picturing all that was hilarious. "Fuck, Emmett, I would have loved to have been there for that!"

"You could have been if you hadn't abandoned me with Bex and the hungry gays!"

"Ah sorry, but I had my cock in Jasper's mouth while we watched some guys fuck, but next time if you want ,you can come with us." I guffawed, knowing that it wasn't Emmett's thing, but I was sure that he was glad he had stayed at the bar, now. He opened his mouth and his notepad fell on the table with a thud.

"Seriously, you-"

"McCarty! I don't pay your sorry ass so you can bore the customers with your prattle. Leave them alone and get to work already!"

Emmett winced and sent us an apologetic smile, before walking up to the guy who had spoken to him. They exchanged a few words, and none of them sounded nice. Emmett's shoulder hunched, and he shook his head in answer to whatever the guy was saying, before being pushed towards the kitchen.

Jasper, Bex, and I looked at each other, wondering what that was all about, but we stayed put, waiting to see what would happen next. Emmett emerged from the kitchen with three plates and brought them to us.

"Sorry about that. Some people think they're better than everyone else. Sadly, it's frowned upon to beat up your boss." He shrugged and walked away quickly to attend to another table.

Jasper started eating, then turned to where Emmett was. "Hey, can you bring us some sauce when you come back over here?"

Emmett nodded but it was his boss who brought it to us in the next few seconds. "I apologize for him. I try my best to help him and he has been working here for years, but some people are just too limited, you know what I mean?"

I put my fork down. "No, I don't think I know what you mean. Or why you're telling us that."

The guy looked surprised. "Well, I'm sorry for the inconvenience he caused you."

Emmett had his back turned to us, working on something, but I knew he was listening, I wondered how many times he had heard that asshole talk about him this way. I was itching with the need to punch him, but I knew that wasn't a solution; Emmett would be the one to pay for that.

"I'm sorry. Inconvenience?" I waited for him to nod before continuing. "The only inconvenience I see here is you. Emmett has been a great waiter, and I'm wondering why you would talk about him like that."

"I'm sorry if I misjudged the situation. I'm always worried when it comes to him." He paused, then added, "Sometimes you have to be worried when it comes to certain people. It's my business, after all. I don't want anything to happen."

Fuck this guy, he was such a dickhead. "Can you just get the fuck out of our faces so we can finish eating?"

The guy took a step back, appalled. "No need to get vulgar. I was just looking out for you. There are some things you don't know about him, that's all."

"Douchebag."

"Moron."

"Dumbass."

All three of us insulted him at the same time, which made us laugh, but he just walked away, fuming.

"Is that guy for real?" Jasper looked from Bex to me. She answered first.

"Sadly. What an asshole. Seriously, people like that just make me want to get violent. I'm not even hungry anymore."

Emmett came back to our table and clapped my shoulder. "Thanks for that. You didn't have to do it."

"What the fuck, Emmett? That guy is such a prick. Of course I had to! I really wanted to make him eat his teeth, too."

He chuckled, but it was mixed with bitterness. "I'm used to him; believe me when I say he isn't the worst boss out there. I've learned to ignore him, anyway."

The tension in his jaw proved that wasn't completely true, but I let it go. He walked away and we kept eating.

"That's so ducking wrong."

I choked on my food at Jasper's words at the same time as Bex said, "Seriously, boy?" Then she gazed at me. "Edward!"

"What?"

She pointed a thumb at Jasper. "He's still saying duck. Why is he still saying duck?"

"Because he's Jasper?"

"Oh yeah, let's talk about me as if I'm not here, again. I haven't missed it, just so you know."

Bex waved at him dismissively, and he slapped his forehead. She was still looking at me. "The only thing you had to do was to use your wonder cock to unlock him, but he's still saying 'duck'!"

"Whoa, first, ah, I like my cock, but in no way is it a 'wonder cock', and second, I can tell you that Bruce can say 'fuck' and a _lot _of other swear words, don't worry."

"Oh. Ooooh." She watched Jasper's face for a few seconds. "Do you now?"

He shrugged. "Yes." He pointed his fork at me. "You do have a sort of wonder cock."

"Yeah, sure, Bruce. Maybe for you, but you're strange anyway."

"He does?" Bex asked him, her eyes shining and a bright smile on her face. "I knew it! How it is?"

"Uncut and when-"

"Not that I mind you praising my dick, but it's weird. It's my cock, praise it by using your mouth and tongue -not you Bex, I'm talking to Bruce, here- but not by talking about it."

Jasper licked his lips while he stared at me, and Bex laughed at him. "Seems like you two are having fun; I've never seen Jasper like this. I knew my boy had it in him."

Oh, he had a lot of things in him. I don't think she knew how finished eating, and Bex gave us a few more details about her night, but we still didn't know why Emmett had brought her home. We left the restaurant soon after, and I motioned to Emmett that I'd be back to see him.

"Okay, boys, I think I need a nap."

"Feeling your age, Bex? But a nap does sound good." He wriggled his eyebrows as he glanced at me.

Bex hit Jasper on the head, and he howled. "Be careful, boy. You know better than to push my buttons."

"Sorry, Bex." Jasper laughed, clearly not meaning it.

"I don't believe you, boy." She grinned. "But we haven't talked, just the two of us, for a while, so I think I'll take that as an apology."

Jasper made a face and looked at me, pleading with his eyes. Shit, him and his puppy-dog eyes! I stayed silent, though, so he turned to Bex, and spoke to her in a coaxing tone. "Bex, think about all the filthy things Edward and I could do during a nap. Do you really want to get between me and his cock, or between him and my cock?"

She seemed to think about it for a minute, but I discreetly shook my head, telling her not to cave. She was surprised for what seemed like the blink of an eye - she was good, there was no doubt about it- but then went with it. "No, I don't care. From what I've heard lately, you two will have fucked more times than I care to count before this day is over."

Jasper sighed but smiled. Like me, he knew she was right; and I guessed he wasn't against some time with her, either. He shrugged and kissed me before following Bex to her room.

I walked back inside the restaurant, where Mr. Douchebag sent daggers at me when he thought I wasn't looking, and waited for Emmett to finish with one of his tables.

"When are you off?"

He checked his watch. "In about 15 minutes, why?"

"Do you know if there are any music stores around here? I'm looking for a guitar."

He stroked his neck, thinking. "Yeah, I think I know where you can find one." Then he asked, surprised, "You want me to come with you?"

"Yup, plus you still have my car keys."

Twenty minutes later we were in my car. I listened to his directions, then brought up the topic of his boss.

"Why do you let him speak to you like that?"

"I don't, believe me. But I need the money, and there are not many people willing to give a job to an ex-con, and he knows that. Although I'm not the only person in this world with a dickhead for a boss, sometimes you just don't have much choice."

I hummed in answer and he kept going, "I'm baffled by the fact that you still haven't asked what I did to end up in prison."

I glanced at him before answering. "I want to know if you want to tell me, but it's not my business, Emmett."

"I know I'm repeating myself, but you're weird. Most people shy away, but not before wanting to know what I did."

I took a left turn when he told me to. "Let's say we're not most people."

"I'm beginning to see that." He looked out the window and stayed silent for a few minutes. "I stole. I was in a sort of gang at the time, mostly fuckers if you ask me, but I needed to feel like I belonged somewhere, you know?" I didn't answer, but he wasn't waiting for one. "We used to break into empty houses and steal a few things. We weren't organized. We just did it when we felt like it, mostly breaking things and writing on the walls. Fuck, we didn't even steal the big pricy things, just what we needed. Some did it to pay for their drugs, others, like me, out of boredom."

He rubbed his face with a hand. "I was a fucking moron, that's for sure. I'm lucky prison didn't make me worse; I saw that happen to a lot of guys who were locked up with me. They come in as little fish, but by the time they get out, they're up to no good."

I stayed silent. First, I didn't know anything about life in prison and second, because Emmett sounded like he only needed someone to listen to him. He shook his head then changed topic altogether.

"So, Jasper and you, huh? You've been together a long time?"

I chuckled. "With the amount of time you spent with Bex, I'd have thought you would have known. She cheered enough for anyone in the vicinity to know that we fucked for the first time last night."

He groaned. "Oh yeah, that I know. She kept repeating how it was 'wonderful'. I thought maybe you were together before that."

"Nope. Although sometimes it feels like it."

"I've never had any gay friends." He seemed surprised and embarrassed at his words. I didn't know if it was because of the 'gay' or 'friends' part, though. I just laughed and shrugged; it was fun to see him look for something else to say, which he finally did.

"How long have you played guitar?"

"Never. I have no idea how to play. The guitar is for Jasper."

"Oh, okay. Shouldn't he be choosing the guitar, then?"

"Well, that sort of kills the surprise a bit then, doesn't it?"

One thing Bruce did almost as much as having inner conversations, was moving his fingers as if he was playing the guitar. He did it when he was thinking, sometimes when he was lost in conversation with someone, he even did it in his sleep sometimes. It was somewhat fascinating that he didn't realize that he was doing it. It also told me he missed playing, so Bex asking for some time with him gave me the occasion to buy him one. It sure wouldn't be a great guitar, but at least it would be a start.

"Gift? You must like him a lot."

"He needs one, I'm buying him one. And yeah, I like him, but if Bex needed a guitar I'd buy her one, too."

That made him smile. "I believe you. I've just never met people who offered things just for the hell of it, that's all." He huffed and then added, " But you better really like him. Jasper is cool."

"Is it your way of telling me you're interested in Jasper, Emmett?"

"Oh, fuck no! Shit, sorry. It's just, fuck, no. I can't, with a guy, argh! Shit, that was rude! But really it's- Oh, shit I'm sorry, I-"

I couldn't stop laughing. Poor Emmett didn't seem to know how to stop himself. I parked the car when I found the shop, and he was still apologizing as we got out of it.

"It's okay, Emmett, I was joking. It was just funny the way you defended Jasper -who doesn't need to be defended by the way."

We entered the shop and I checked their guitars, not that I could choose alone. Emmett asked the owner a couple of questions. He clearly knew a lot more about them than I did. I watched him handle a few guitars to see whatever the fuck there was to see. The guy was fun, as was the way he had taken to Jasper.

I shook my head. Bruce could charm anyone without even trying. The day he realized how great he was, and felt as confident as he should be, he'd be simply mind-blowing.

I ended up buying what seemed to be the best suited guitar, with its case, and we went back to the car.

"Anywhere else you need to go?"

I started the car, thinking about Emmett's question. "Are there any sex shops around?"

"What?"

"Sex shops, Emmett, where you can buy sex toys. You know, vibes, dildos, cockr-"

"Okay, okay, I got it!" Then he muttered, "I got it the first time, too."

"So?"

"There's a big one, but it's not that close. It's like they built it in the middle of nowhere, but from what I know, people come from a lot of different towns to shop there."

I chuckled and teased him. "From what you know?"

He bent his head but then decided to be more forward. "I've been there once or twice, yeah. Shit, I shouldn't get all self-conscious in front of the guy who got his cock sucked in front of people."

"You should try it sometime."

He coughed. "Ah, no, thank you." Bex was right, it was fun to make him squirm. He coughed again then asked, "So you want to go, now?"

I stopped the car and turned to him. "Are you crazy? Do you know what Jasper and Bex would do to me if I went there without them?"

"Whoa, Bex would go, too?"

"Fuck, Emmett did you take a good look at her last night? You spent the evening with her, dude, and you're surprised she'd want to come?"

"Ah, yeah, said like that. Shit, I'd like to see that! Bex in a sex shop." He laughed and I joined him, because that would definitely be funny.

"We'll go later today. You're welcome to join us, by the way. The idea of you and Bex together in a sex shop is hilarious."

Emmett blanched a bit. "She'll ask me to try things, won't she?"

I didn't answer because I was too busy laughing. Knowing her, she would. I couldn't wait to witness that.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<strong>_


	12. You're drooling, Batman

_**Thanks to the ever wonderful Dariachenowith, Chrissy and Wendy for their time and help!**_

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><p><strong>a huge 'Thank you' to you for reading and for your amazing words. I haven't replied to everyone yet, but I will, your support means so much to me!<strong>

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><p><em>Disclamer: Poor Emmett saw fleshlights (but no twilight) Uh...Ah, well<em>

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><p><em><strong>Jasper<strong>_

As I followed Bex to her room, I had a difficult time getting rid of the hard-on I had gotten while thinking about what a 'nap' with Edward would involve. I was happy about spending some time with her, though. She was right. We hadn't talked, just the two of us, in a while. Once we were in her room, she took a seat on the couch.

"Are you going to stand there all day, boy?"

I joined her there and lay next to her, with my head on her lap. It was a position I liked, and she indulged me every time. I felt her hand play with my hair and I closed my eyes.

"How are you, boy?"

"What do you mean?"

"How are you handling what happened with your parents, for a start?"

I sighed and thought about it for a minute. "I don't know. I'm angry and sad, but I'm okay, Bex."

"It's not good to keep it inside, boy, you know that." She pulled on my hair a little to make me look at her. "So?"

"I have problem wrapping my head around it." I paused because that wasn't entirely true but I didn't know how to explain. "I mean, I'm angry that it had to come to that, I'm glad I finally had the guts to tell them off, but they're still my parents." They hadn't even called me since that day. They're my parents damn it, don't they care if I'm okay or not? Bex stayed silent while I was thinking; she and Edward were a lot alike in that way. They always gave me time to think. "She hasn't called me once." Bex didn't need any more explanation to know what I was talking about, so I added, "She's my darn mother and she hasn't called! I'm not surprised that my father hasn't, but her? I don't get it."

"You haven't called her either, boy. Am I wrong?"

"Why should I? She didn't speak up at dinner; she didn't say anything to me before I left the house." I huffed. "Well, nothing nice anyway. Why should I call her?"

"I didn't say you should."

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm just saying, boy, that miscommunication is a two way street. Your mother didn't act like she should have and fuck knows that woman never gave you anything worth fighting for when it came to your relationship with her, but you either have to come to terms with the fact that she isn't going to call or you have to pick up the phone to call her and confront her."

"I don't know if I can, Bex."

"If you can come to terms with it or if you can call her?"

"Call her."

I wasn't sure I wanted to hear her tell me how fucked up she thought I was. Hearing it once from my father was enough. But Bex had a point, I had to make a choice and stick by it if I wanted to put it in the past. Dang, I wish Edward was here. Although, maybe it was good he wasn't here after all. When I was with Edward, my mother was the last thing on my mind. Not a bad thing in itself, but he wasn't always there and I needed to deal with it on my own.

"It's your choice, boy. I'd be tempted to tell you to forget that bitch, but I know it's not that simple. She's your mother and one thing I don't want you to have is regret. Not when it comes to her. You have to do what you need to do in order to find closure."

"You don't think I've found closure?" I knew I hadn't, but I still wanted to hear what she had to say.

"That you haven't, boy. You fled, and in this case it's a good thing. You needed it. But no, you didn't get any closure."

I simply nodded and we stayed silent for a while. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't think there was anything to save there but Bex was right; she was my mother and I'd probably continue to wonder where we were at if I didn't call her. It would keep bugging me and I didn't need that. I wanted things to be clear in my head.

"Maybe I will call her."

"Do it when you want. You could talk about it with Edward, too. That man has a good head on his shoulders. He could help."

The mention of Edward brought a smile to my face, which made Bex laugh.

"Don't laugh at me."

"I'm not. It's good to see you like this. You weren't like this when you were dating those other guys."

"That's because they weren't Edward."

Bex slapped my forehead. "You're so mushy."

"But it's true! He doesn't think I'm an idiot, he always gives me time to think and never mocks me for my inner conversations. I love how his mind works, he's honest, funny and clever. And he's the coolest guy I've ever met." I turned my head to look at her. "He doesn't get mad or angry, and every problem has a solution. I like that."

"Seems like you're more than a little infatuated, boy."

"And that's a bad thing?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "Certainly not. It's a good thing. You're good for each other. It's really fun to watch how you balance each other."

"Yeah, I think we are. We had the talk, you know."

"The talk? Is that some weird code people use nowadays to mean they're fucking?"

I burst into laughter. "No, Bex. The kinks talk."

"Ooh, what did he say?"

"I think he was surprised, but he reacted well. I was waiting for him to laugh at me or be disgusted but he wasn't. I'm happy he was intent on us having that conversation."

"Knowing you, you'd have spent your time bashing your head against every wall wondering if he'd still like you the way you are if he knew. It's good that you talked about it."

She knew me pretty well. And of course she was right, I would have. "There are some things he isn't ready for, maybe won't ever be. Others he's okay with, and he doesn't think I'm a freak so, yeah, it's good we talked about it."

"What are you not telling me?"

I groaned. Dang, nothing got past her. "I think I fell in love with him right then."

"You think? What's with the 'think' fuckery, boy?"

"Well, it's not a mystery that I like him."

"You can't hide that from anyone." Then she laughed and added, "Yeah, I knew that the first time you brought him to see me."

"Yeah, I wanted to know what you thought of him. The fact that you liked him on the spot was a good indication that I wasn't wrong to think he was worth befriending. And I really wanted to spend more time with him, so inviting him along was the best thing to do. The fact that he accepted is proof that he wanted to get to know me, too."

"That's right, boy. No young man decides to go to a retirement home on their day off to visit someone they don't know."

"Oh, he was curious about you, though. That helped. But yeah, true." I smiled and then went on. "Well anyway, from then on I liked him more and more and then we went to that club last night…" Darn, that had been hot. I could still feel the eyes of that guy on me and feel Edward's cock in my mouth. I wondered when-

"Having a hard-on while you're in the company of an old lady is weird, boy. Can you just finish what you were going to say?"

"Uh, sorry. Last night I realized I did more than like him, but it was this morning that I realized I loved him. Do you think that's strange?"

"That you love him? I've seen weirder things, boy. Once, there was this guy and he could put his cock in-"

"Spare me the details, please!" She motioned for me to go on. "We were on the bed, and I won't lie to you, I was scared shitless. That's when I realized, and while we were discussing things point by point, Edward never seemed fazed or shocked, you know. He was really accepting of that part of me… it was just, I don't know, just there." I looked at Bex, not sure if I was making any sense, but I didn't think I could explain it any better than that. She hummed and nodded her head, then smiled at me but stayed silent. "What? You're not going to comment on that?"

"I don't have anything to say, boy. You're happy and that's enough for me."

I closed my eyes again, enjoying what her hand was doing to my hair. I'd been in love before, but it hadn't been like this. Maybe it was because I had never really been free of my parents, or maybe because I didn't feel quite adequate before. Maybe it was because this time it was Edward. I really didn't care about the whys, anyway; it just felt good. I was almost falling asleep when she piped up again,

"He's a good lay, I reckon?"

"That's an understatement! You know that expression, 'he rocks my world'?"

She swatted my hair. "I'm old, not stupid, boy."

"Yeah, well, he rocks my world, and even a little more than that if you know what I mean."

She laughed and nodded before she resumed playing with my hair. "Good. Sex isn't everything, but a relationship can't work if both parties aren't totally satisfied. Or it won't last, at least."

"Sometimes it does."

"Yeah, and both people are unhappy, living in an unhealthy relationship where they end up blaming the other for a shit load of things that have nothing to do with sex, just because they can't be honest even with themselves when it comes to them needing a good fuck that their significant other can't provide."

I guess that was what Edward had meant by knowing what was down the road and about being sure that each of us could give the other what he needed. I didn't want to imagine what state I'd be in if he had been repelled by what I had shared with him. This would have been the shortest road trip ever, and I'd have been devastated either way. I sighed and Bex tapped my chest.

"Don't go down that road; everything is fine with Edward."

"Yeah, I know." Sometimes people could surprise us, it seemed. I was sure I wouldn't be able find a guy who could handle me. One I could like back, I mean, that's why I'd never shared much on the topic. And about sharing... "You surprised me when you mentioned your time in prison."

"Oh, well, Emmett needed it. The poor boy looked so sad. He was so sure we'd just toss his sorry ass aside."

He had looked a bit defeated, that's true. "Still, you don't talk about it much. In fact I've never heard you talk about it except when it's just the two of us."

"It was great if only to see the look on their faces. I'm not sure Edward believed it, though."

"He did. He's curious to know why but he knew not to ask me."

"Wise man."

That he was. Darn, I had a stupid grin on my face each time his name was spoken; at least I believe it was a stupid grin. Gah, I hope I wasn't going to act like a moron each time I looked at him. I didn't think that would impress him much. "Can you slap me if I act like a sixteen year-old girl with a crush when I'm around him?"

"I think I can do that. Why?"

"Because it would be embarrassing!"

"And being slapped by me in public wouldn't be?"

She had a point. "Yeah, but still," I groaned and stretched, catching her hand in mine, "I'd rather be slapped by you than be acting all love-struck. You know how I can be."

We talked more about the road trip and Edward, mostly going over everything that had happened in the last few days. We kept it light and fun, but the thought of my parents never left me. We had been talking for almost two hours when we both started to doze off, so I left her room to let her nap.

I stayed outside, looking for a place to sit and enjoy the weather while I thought about what Bex had said. Just the thought of my parents made my stomach churn and bile rise up in my mouth, but she was right, I needed closure one way or another. I had freed myself from the life they had decided for me, but it didn't mean I had freed myself from them. Or the thought of them. I couldn't really think clearly, so I gave up and went back to my room instead.

Edward was sprawled on the bed, sleeping, a book open on the pillow next to his head. I slowly lay down next to him, trying not to wake him up, and watched him sleep for a few minutes before I turned on my back. I was lost in thought- about him, but mostly about my parents- when he spoke.

"What's going on, Bruce?"

He hadn't moved and his eyes were still closed. "How do you know something is going on?"

"You're thinking so loudly it woke me up. " He opened an eye, then added, "You sighed at least four times in the last three minutes. It's pretty telling, Jasper."

I hadn't realized I was doing that. I looked at him and crossed my arms behind my head, staring at the ceiling again. "I had a conversation with Bex about my mother." He stayed silent to give me the time to finish what I wanted to say or to let me gather my thoughts. "I'm thinking about calling her."

"Why?"

"You don't think I should?"

He turned on his side and scratched his jaw. "I didn't say anything, I only asked why you were thinking about calling her. So?"

"I think I need to. For me, you know? I don't want to stay angry at her, I want...I want to not care about her at best, if she tells me she agrees with what _he_ said, but I don't want to feel the rage I'm feeling each time I think about her, anymore." He nodded and I kept talking, "I need to know if she just went along with him because she's weak or because she believes what he said. I need to know where I stand, and not wonder every day why she doesn't call, whether she even thinks about calling me and if there's anything to salvage there, or it will drive me crazy. What do you think?"

"I think you're decided about doing it."

"I am, but what do _you_ think about it?"

He sighed and righted himself into a sitting position. "I'm not you, Jasper, so I don't have a clue about what to do. I can't tell you if you're right or wrong. What I know, on the other hand, is that you should do what feels right to you."

"That's all?"

"You have a point when it comes to needing to know where you stand, but I can't tell you that calling her is the best way to do it, because I don't know if it is. It could go either way, so no, I can't give you advice on that, you have to decide for yourself. Which it seems you have, so go with it."

"Yeah, I will. Not right now, but I will." Making the decision made me feel a little better, although now I dreaded that phone call.

Edward lay down again, on his back, this time close to me, and put one of his legs above mine. "I'll be there if you need me."

"I know."

"Good."

I turned on my side, trapping his leg between mine. I put my head on his chest, just under his chin. He kissed my head and I sighed contentedly. Who knew that deciding to make a phone call could be so tiring?

*.*.*

I was woken up later by Edward tapping on my head with one of his fingers. "You know there are so many better ways to be woken up, Alfred. Why this one?"

I shook with his laughter. "Because any other way would lead to fucking and we're meeting Bex and Emmett outside in ten minutes."

"Why?" I lifted my head and wiped my mouth. Charming. I had drooled on his shirt. "Where are we going?"

He stood up and took off his shirt before picking another one from his bag. He hadn't unpacked, not even a little. Half of my clothes were out and properly stored in the dresser and his were just a mess in or on top of his bag. Although it was foreign to me, I didn't really ponder why someone would prefer their clothes on the floor rather than folded on a shelf, because Edward was still shirtless.

A shirtless Edward meant skin slapping against skin and moaning, sweating, and stroking. It meant pure pleasure. I stood up and walked behind him before circling him with my arms and biting his back. I let my tongue trail over his skin as my hands roamed over his chest. "I don't want to see Bex and Emmett right now."

He turned around, dropping his shirt on the floor, and kissed me. "No?"

"No." I put my hands on his ass and pulled him closer to me and he nipped at my jaw and neck.

"But they're waiting for us."

As if I cared, with what he was doing to me at the moment. "Uh huh. Don't care."

He started to pull on my shirt to make me take it off. "Maybe you're right. We can wait another day to buy plugs, and vibes and-"

"We're going to a sex shop?"

"No, no we're going to fuck, then maybe next week we'll find another sex shop."

I pushed on his chest. "Are we going to buy some toys for you, too?"

He snorted and pulled me back against him. "Do you really think I'd pass on that, Bruce?"

Yes, I almost came. Edward and sex toys, that gave me brain overload. Fuck, all the things I wanted him to do to me and all the things I wanted to do to him. I couldn't even wrap my head around it I was so turned on right now. Need. Sex. Toys. Now. Breathe, Jasper. Oh, wow. What were we still doing here? We needed to go, now. I had to move first, yeah, moving was good, people moved to go places, right? Okay, breathe and move. I wasn't moving. I was breathing, I think, maybe.

"Bruce?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Do you want us to go to the sex shop?"

"Yes."

"You're aware that in order to do so, you'll have to get ready and move, right?"

"Yeah. Give me a minute."

"Are you watching porn in your head again?"

"Oh yeah, I am… You're so hot in the middle of ass play." He was. All naked and spread, writhing and making the same noises he had this morning when I would slowly-

"Jasper, we really have to go now."

Edward stood in front of me, ready to leave.

"I'm ready! I'm here!"

He took my hand and pulled me out of the room. I was trying to take my brain out of porn mode on our walk to the car, and by the time we got there, I was still turned on but capable of functioning on my own.

"You look strange, boy."

Ah! What did she think? "Edward. Sex toys," was all I replied.

Emmett clapped my shoulder. "It seems to have a strong effect on you."

"It does, believe me, Emmett, it does. We're talking about sex toys _and_ Edward. Together. Do you get it?"

"I'm not-err no, I don't. But good for you!" He thumped my shoulder twice, and opened the passenger door before getting in the car.

"Are you going to be okay there, boy?" she asked, then spoke to Edward. "You're going to break him one day, you know that?"

"Of course not. He'll get used to it. Right, Bruce?"

"Yeah, I will. Not too soon, I hope."

Bex laughed and opened the back door to sit behind Emmett, while Edward and I walked to the other side of the car. He opened the door for me and winked when he closed it once I was in. I couldn't wait to get there. Edward started the car and I shifted in my seat, my elbow hitting, uhm, a guitar case? "There's a guitar in the car!"

Emmett turned around swiftly and screamed, wide-eyed. Then he looked at Bex and said, in a frightened tone, "Oh, my God! There's a guitar in the car! What should we do?"

Bex didn't miss a beat. "We have to kill it! Or throw it out the window before it kills us all!"

Clearly I wasn't going to get an answer from those two. Darn, they were like two peas in a pod. "Edward, there's a guitar in the car!"

Bex and Emmett started screaming in unison before laughing. Edward shook his head at their antics before answering me. "It's for you." He smiled at me in the rearview mirror, but I was too shocked to react.

"I bought it while you were with Bex earlier."

Okay. He had bought me a guitar? A guitar. Edward had bought me a guitar? What the-. "Why?"

"I thought you'd like it? It seemed like you missed playing."

Emmett and Bex had stopped their little game and were watching us, curious. I could see Edward glancing at me often, but since he was driving it wasn't possible for him to look for more than a second at a time.

"Maybe you could open the case, boy?" Bex spoke at the same time as Emmett was saying "There are a lot of different guitars at the store if you don't like this one."

"Stop the car."

"Boy, I don't think-"

"Stop the fucking car!"

That's one of the good things when you don't cuss, people tend to listen to you when you do. Emmett and Bex shut up at the same time, and Edward finally stopped the car on the side of the road. I got out of it and opened the door, motioning for him to get out, too. He looked at me, surprised, but didn't seem upset or confused. He just opened his arms and I hugged him.

"Need to breathe, Bruce."

I lessened my hold on him but kept hugging him tightly. "Thank you."

"My pleasure." He hugged me tight and chuckled. "I think they thought you didn't like it."

"They're morons. Hug me tighter." He did and I kissed his neck, then his mouth. "I love it."

Edward stroked his hand through my hair and pulled a little so he could look me in the eyes. "You didn't even see what kind of guitar it was."

"It's a guitar; you bought it for me. I love it." I nestled my face in his neck and fisted the back of this shirt.

Edward stroked my back and shoulders for a moment. "Do you think we can get back in the car now, Bruce?"

"No. I need more."

"We're on the side of the road, there are cars passing by and we're lucky no one has hit us yet. This is a dangerous place to stand, Jasper."

I held him tighter, not answering him. I didn't care where we were. He had given me something that mattered to me and he didn't have to. He wasn't even asking anything from me in exchange. He just did it. And he could have bought me the stupidest thing ever and I'd still have loved it. No one had been that thoughtful to me in my entire life, except for Bex, but that was different on so many levels.

"Uhm, Jasper?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't know if you're aware of it, but we've been here almost fifteen minutes, and as much as I like to hug you, my arms hurt."

"Oh."

"Yeah ,'oh', now can you release me?"

At that moment Bex shouted, "I think you broke him this time!" I gave her the finger, my hands still clutching the back of Edward's shirt, which brought an "ooooh" from the two crazy people in the car. Bex added, "Just so you know, I'd be slapping you right now, like you asked me to, but you look too busy to care."

I reluctantly let go of him, but gripped his neck to kiss him one last time before we had to get back into the car. He opened his mouth and stroked his tongue with mine, while I made him walk backward until his back hit the car. Then I pushed myself flush against him, feeling his cock harden against mine. His hand started to roam over my chest, under my shirt, but then he broke the kiss.

"Whoa. We better stop there." Edward shook his head as if to regain focus. "I'm really happy you like your gift. I was going to offer it to you tonight but I forgot to put it in the trunk." I licked my bottom lip which seemed to make him lose his train of thought; it was always good to see that I could do that to him. He cleared his throat then added. "Okay, get in the car. I can't really think straight right now."

The ride to the sex shop took us about an hour. Bex taunted us for stopping when 'it was starting to get steamy and Emmett was just thankful that we had. I didn't pay much attention to them. I had finally taken the guitar out of its case and spent the whole way there strumming chords and getting used to the feeling of it in my hands. I loved it.

Once in the sex shop, which was huge, Bex oohed and aahed at everything. It was funny to watch. She had decided on giving Emmett an education; the poor guy was obviously trying to get away from her, sending us pleading looks for 'help' that soon became glares, since we were having too much fun to stop her.

"And this?" Bex handed him a dildo shaped like a fist.

"Oh fuck, what is that shit?"

"Well, you put it in your ass, Emmett."

"No fucking way. I'm not buying anything that's supposed to go in my ass, especially not something that's bigger than my own fist." He pushed the dildo out of his sight, then he picked up something in front of him. "Hey, this is so for you guys! This cockring looks funny."

We burst into laughter, and Edward looked at him, shaking his head. "You know why it has a strange shape?"

"Because it's fun?"

I chuckled and pointed at it. "See this ball here?" He nodded so I went on. "That's to stimulate the clitoris. What would we do with something made to stimulate clits, Emmett? "

"Ah, yeah, not for you then." Edward and I both shook our heads. Then Emmett asked, "Does it really stimulate the clit while you fuck the woman?"

"Emmett, we're gay. Ask us about cocks, balls, perineum and prostates, but clits? Nope."

Edward groaned and Emmett glanced at him, confused. "I love when he says cock, and it gets me hard every time." I chuckled while Emmett shook his head, then Edward added, "You should ask Bex. I'm sure she knows the answer."

"Oh fuck, no! That woman doesn't know what too much information is."

"What do you want to ask me?"

"Nothing!" Emmett sent us a pointed glare to keep us quiet. We just laughed and kept looking at the numerous cockrings. Emmett was astounded by all the shapes. "A reindeer? Really? Who wants a reindeer cockring? And is that an elephant?"

I took a closer look at what he was showing us. "It is. At least it makes more sense that the reindeer."

"How does it make more sense to you? What guy wants to wander around with a reindeer or an elephant on his cock?"

Bex was laughing, standing next to me, and took the elephant cockring out of my hands. "I think you should buy it, Emmett."

"What the fuck for? I don't want to have a trunk on my junk!"

"Oh, but Emmett, you wouldn't have a trunk on your junk." He looked at Bex, doubtful. "The elephant is supposed to be upside down, you know?"

I could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to picture where the elephant's trunk was meant to go.

"I said nothing in my ass, Bex! I'll take the other one but not that."

"You want the reindeer?" Bex was trying to keep a straight face while asking the question, which made Edward and I guffaw.

"Fuck no, the one that stimulates the clit. Who knows, I might find someone willing to try it out."

Edward was still chuckling when he asked me, "You want the elephant one?"

"Nope, it doesn't work anyway, but I'll take the one with vibe." He gave me an appreciative smile and picked up the one I was talking about before throwing it in our basket with the three vibes and five dildos we had already selected.

Bex had pulled Emmett into another aisle and we joined them. I wondered if her goal was to make him run, based on what they were looking at.

"I don't get it, Bex. Why would anyone put that in their ass? Even I wouldn't feel that." He saw us coming and showed us what they were talking about. "Would you put that in your ass?"

"Ah, no, I wouldn't. But nobody would, it's not for the ass. Although I can assure you, you'd feel it."

Emmett turned to Bex. "See? Wait. Why do they sell them then?"

"It's an urethra needle, Emmett." I gave him a pointed look to convey what I meant.

"I don't-" He gasped and looked at us as if we were insane. "Fuck, you're kidding me! I'm hurting just thinking about it! First my ass and now you want me to put something in my _cock_? You're crazy, woman!"

"Hey, don't diss it. I've heard it brings great pleasure."

"Jasper, I don't give a shit. I'm not trying that out!"

Edward was still laughing but he calmed down so he could speak. "You can't have just anyone do it anyway, you need someone who knows what they're doing. I think Bex is mostly just trying to make you lose your cool."

"It's working. Can we go see the magazines or videos? I'm even for checking out fake pussies and mouths."

"Oh, I saw some great fleshlights! You'll love them." With that Bex pulled Emmett out of the aisle we were in and into another. Edward clapped my shoulder.

"Let's go see the plugs."

I followed him through the labyrinth of sex toys and we came face to face with a wall of plugs; I didn't know where to look with all of the different colors and shapes. "Any idea what you want?"

Edward snaked a hand around my waist and pulled me to him, my ass against his once again hard cock. His other hand stroked my chest, his fingers flicking my nipples on each occasion. "I have a pretty good idea of what I want but it's not something I can have right now."

That was just mean, I was already having a hard time staying focused and not drooling over what we had already chosen. Edward had picked up a purple vibe earlier, stating that he had always wanted to have one. I had spent half an hour picturing him using it on m., I was turned on beyond what I thought was possible; if he started doing things like that, too, I'd either cream my pants or jump him right there. Knowing me, probably both.

"Let's choose some plugs and get the fuck out of here, this shit isn't funny anymore. I want your cock in my ass and I want to play with everything."

Edward groaned and one of his hands grabbed my cock. With his other hand he turned my head so he could kiss me. I couldn't stop myself. I started moving my ass against his cock and he groaned again, our kiss swallowing the sound.

I stepped away from him. At this rate he'd bend me over something soon and while I really wanted that, too, it wasn't going to happen here. Bex would be only too happy to stumble upon us and Emmett would probably need brain bleach for a few months. I really don't know how I stopped him from fondling me some more. Fuck knows it felt good. "Plugs."

"Uh yeah, right. Plugs." He chose a two short but wide yellow plugs, shaped egg, but bigger; and a long, purple, cone-shaped one. After a little hesitation he picked up one last plug, a blue and green mushroom-shaped one. I had been eyeing this one for a while, loving its shape and its look. It seemed quite big, but as with many plugs, it was made to be used in a lot of different ways, and both ends could be used as plugs.

We found Emmett and Bex in the front of the store, looking at fleshlights.

"I still think you have to try."

"I'm not going to, Bex."

"What is this about?" I didn't know how Edward could still make conversation. I only wanted to get out of here and I certainly wasn't up to forming even one coherent sentence.

"Bex wants me to try the fleshlights here."

"Not right here. They have some sort of changing rooms, only you don't 'change'. How can he know if he's choosing the right mouth or ass?" Then she shook her head. "Emmett likes anal, just not on him. Isn't it strange?"

"What is strange about that?" Emmett said, still looking at the fleshlights as if they'd bite. "And that's gross, Bex. Fuck, people have probably tried them. I don't even want to know how many cocks have been in those things."

Bex laughed at his words, she really loved to tease him.. "What is strange is that you expect women to give you their ass, but you don't know how it feels, young man."

Emmett turned to her. "Bex, I don't need to fuck a cat to know that I'm not interested in fucking one. I don't want a guy up my ass."

I forgot my hard-on for a minute, well, not really, it was just not the only thing on my mind right now. "She has a point." I didn't agree with her, but the face he made was worth it.

"What? Not you too! Are you going to argue, too, Edward?"

Edward lifted his hands in surrender. "No, I just want to get out of here and get on with my sex life."

Shit, I needed to get on with my sex life, too. I needed to get off on Edward's cock and also to-

"You're drooling, Batman."

"Uh, dang." I look at the three of them, laughing. Emmett, I was talking to Emmett. "I didn't imply a guy would be involved but you could try something, if you want."

"And if I don't want?"

"Well, then you don't."

"Fine by me, let's leave before Bex wants me to try inflatable dolls."

"I would never, Emmett! But I bought you something."

We all walked to the registers together, Emmett and Bex in front of us.

"What? What 'something'?"

"I'm not telling you. I'll wait for you to want it."

Emmett looked at us over his shoulders and mouthed, "What the fuck?" then asked Bex, "Why would I want something I don't know you have?"

"Because you'll want it, I hope, and when you do, you'll now know that I have it."

Bex was good at playing games, although I didn't doubt she had bought something. But she had no clue if he'd ask for it. I didn't even think she had bought it for that reason. Just having him curious to know what it was probably made her day.

"But what is it?"

Bex stayed silent while Edward and I put everything we had chosen next to the register. I checked all of the different types of lube displayed on the counter and picked up a big pump bottle that I added to our purchase. Edward raised an eyebrow at me and I shrugged. "Better keep the packets of lube for when we're not in the room."

Emmett stared at the pile of items we were buying and shouted,

"Holy fuck me, Batman, you're buying all that?"

Edward's head shot up and he looked at him. "Batman's not going to fuck you, Emmett." He turned to me and asked me playfully, "You're not going to fuck him, Bruce, right?" I shook my head, chuckling, so he looked at Emmett again. "And yes, we're buying all that."

I laughed at their exchange and at Bex, who was giving me the thumbs-up. Emmett picked up what I was sure would soon become my favorite vibe and stared at it skeptically.

"I don't know how you do it, but I'm amazed and a little freaked out, too."

Edward and I both paid half of the bill. Before we picked up the bags, Emmett asked Bex again, "No, seriously, what is it?"

She shrugged and started walking.

"I know what it is. But I can't tell you."

Emmett threw his hands in the air and caught up with Bex. "You mean the clerk knows what you bought but not me?"

We were following them when the clerk called us. "Hey, your friend? The woman?" We nodded, surprised and curious to see where she was going with this. "Tell her if she wants a job I'd hire her. She convinced a lot of costumers to buy some things here that I know they wouldn't have bought otherwise."

Bex and Emmett were waiting for us by the car once again, deep in conversation. She'd tease him but one thing I was sure of, by now she knew his whole life story, and she had probably started helping him deal with whatever shit he had going on in his life.

Edward put his arm on my shoulder, then and pulled me to him, grabbing my ass and making our cocks rub against each other. I moaned and closed my eyes, then felt his breath on my neck. "I really need you naked in our room, Bruce." I whimpered and he added, "I can't wait to hear you say fuck again."

He stepped away from me and I tried to follow him, but I had to take a minute. When I was back at his side, I squeezed his ass. "Don't think I'll miss the opportunity to play with your ass, Alfred."

We all got in the car and Edward started it before looking at me in the rearview mirror and finally answering me. "I can't wait for you to do it, Jasper."

I gulped, my eyes still staring at the rearview mirror, even if Edward wasn't looking at me anymore. Oh, fuck, I needed to cum, several times if possible and preferably all over him.

"Not that I want to interrupt your heavy foreplay, boys, but when are we leaving Billings? We should decide now before you lock yourselves in your room and don't come out for a week."

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><p><strong><em>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<em>**


	13. I'm here, Batman

_**Thanks to Dariachenowith and Chrissy, they're pure genius. Thanks to WendyK who spent last week working on different Roads' chapters before leaving on vacation.**_

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><p><strong>A huge thank you to YOU awesome readers and reviewers. You blow my mind each week and I looove it!<strong>

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><p><em>Disclaimer: Yes, Edward has a prostate. So sad he doesn't use it in canon.<em>

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><p><em><strong>Edward<strong>_

"But it's Elton John!"

"What's your point, Bruce?"

"Elton John! 'Candle- In- the- Wind- Can-You- Feel- the-Love- Tonight- Elton John'! Those are crappy!"

We arrived in Sleeping Buffalo a while ago. After lunch Bex had gone to take a nap – we had left Billings rather early in the morning – so Jasper and I decided to take the car to scout around a little.

On our way back from the sex shop last night we had discussed when we would leave and where we wanted to go. After another fight with the map, we decided to go to Sleeping Bull. There were a lot more things to see than in Billings, and Jasper and I were all for hiking a little.

After we had gone back to our room and fucked several times, we met Bex in the restaurant. I didn't like that place, but it was where Emmett would be since he had an evening shift. Bex teased him endlessly about the sex shop and what she had bought for him, and she asked us bunch of questions about what toy we had used and how. We stayed there long after dinner was over so we could talk to him whenever he had a minute. Our goodbyes lasted a while, but eventually we all went to our rooms. I hadn't slept enough the night before, and great fucks were exhausting. I needed sleep badly and so did Jasper. Billings was nice because Emmett was there, but there was nothing else there for us; it was time to leave, and that's what we did in the morning.

I was trying to stay focused on the road while Jasper played with my iPod and apparently decided to mock Elton John. "I admit that his later work isn't as good, but he wrote three of the best albums of all times, in my book."

"Seriously? Please, do tell."

"Simple: 'Tumbleweed Connection', 'Honky Château', and 'Captain Fantastic'. People usually choose 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road', but I don't think it's in his top three. And, fuck, even Pete Townshend wanted to work with him at the time."

"Who?"

"Tell me you're kidding or making a bad joke based on the band's name, Bruce." He looked sheepish and shrugged. "How can you be a guitarist and not know of Pete Townshend? The Who! The motherfucking Who!"

"Yeah, I know of them."

He was killing me. "You know 'of them'? That's the problem nowadays, people only know them because of some TV shows when it's one of the greatest bands!"

"What TV shows?"

"Who cares? The Who, Jasper, that's what's important. I can't believe you don't know The Who."

"Yeah, but we were talking about Elton John, technically, and he sucks."

I groaned and shook my head. Jasper was teasing me on purpose, and I think music was the only topic where he could get a rise out of me. He put his hand on my crotch and leaned into me to whisper,

"I'm going to make you forget that I don't know The Who." He squeezed my cock.

"Don't be a tease, Bruce."

He kept stroking me through my pants. "But I like teasing you. And I will deliver."

I glanced at him and smirked. "That's what you said last night, and I'm still waiting."

"True, but it was still very good." He wriggled his eyebrows and licked his lips. "And I love feeling your cock deep in my ass; you can't blame me for that. Your hard cock sliding in and out, I know you love that, too."

He knew I loved it when he used the word cock and he was using it very well at the moment. His hand groping me didn't make it any easier. That made me think of the great fuck -or four- that we had in our room, where Jasper hadn't delivered on his promise, I might add. Not that I really minded, we had time and that man could move his ass like no other, making me forget about my own in less than a second. If my cock could manage it, I'd be fucking him all day long.

He wasn't shy in the bedroom but he was getting more self-assured the longer we knew each other, and that was valid inside and outside of our sex life. I liked all that Jasper could be, whether it was shy, funny, spaced-out, sarcastic, or doubtful, but self-assured Jasper was such a turn-on. I sure as fuck wouldn't let him forget this time, and the motel we were staying at would remember our stay.

"Bruce."

"Yes, Alfred?"

"Let me drive. We need to get to the motel in one piece."

He nipped at my jaw, then bit me. "Mmhm, I like when you're scruffy, Alfred. It makes me want to lick you."

Fuck, I couldn't think of his tongue on me right now. I focused on switching gears and turning when needed until we were back at the motel parking lot. Jasper was still rubbing my cock over my pants, and his mouth never left my jaw. He was also making all sorts of noises from sighs to whimpers. I stopped the car, then turned my head and kissed him lazily.

When his hand started opening my pants, I grabbed it to halt him. "I don't want to be arrested for indecency, we're in a parking lot. Kids don't need to see this, Bruce."

The next second, he was out of the car and pulling me out, before I even had a chance to move. Seemed like Bruce was more than a little eager. His hands were everywhere, and we were kissing as he walked me backwards to our door, my back hitting it with a thump.

He removed my shirt before opening the door; it took him longer than it should have in the state of lust he was in. An old lady passed us by and gasped when she saw me shirtless. Well, I guess it was mostly because of Bruce's hand down my pants.

Once inside, he got rid of his own shirt, paused a minute to watch me, lust written all over his face and quickly undid his pants, his hard cock springing free. He pumped himself twice before he finished getting the rest of the way out of his clothes, then he kissed me again, his tongue searching for mine, and his hands pulling on my pants.

His warm hand closed on my balls and started fondling them, making me moan at the sensation. My pants were at my knees and he lifted a foot to push them all the way down, making it possible for me to step out of them. As soon as I did, he turned us around, his lips never leaving my throat. One hand was still stroking my balls and the other kneading my ass. He pulled me with him as he walked backwards; his legs hit the bed making him lose his balance and we both stumbled on it.

We resumed our kissing and as he tried to scoot back, his hand slipped off the edge of the bed, making me roll off him. I gripped him to keep from falling but it was useless, and we both ended up on the floor, me on my back and him on top of me. I groaned and he started laughing while I tried to catch my breath. "That hurt, Bruce. I can't believe we fell off the damn bed."

Jasper didn't seem fazed by it; his hands roamed over my chest, and our cocks rubbed against each other. He kissed my chest but never stopped laughing, even when his tongue trailed over my skin. I gripped his head to kiss him, but it didn't last long as we both ended up chuckling.

I ran my hands down his back until I could grab his ass. He sat up, straddling me and gazed at me for a few seconds before his thumb traced my lips. I licked it and he watched as my tongue darted out, before I sucked his thumb into my mouth. He whimpered and grasped his cock, slowly stroking it, following my rhythm.

Jasper moved up my body until his ass was on my chest, and rubbed the head of his cock on my lips. I loved seeing him like that, when he was so turned on that he didn't second guess what he was doing anymore. His mouth was open, his eyes wide and full of lust and anticipation; he rocked his hips, one hand gripping my hair, and the other holding his cock. I was waiting for him to just take it, only licking the tip of his cock once in a while.

Then he finally lifted my head and pushed his cock all the way into my mouth. I felt his muscles clench as I kept kneading his ass, and a long moan escaped him. I got so hard watching him in his pleasure that I twitched, and felt pre-cum start to leak from my dick. Just a drop, but it was enough to drive me crazy as it slowly slid along my cock.

Jasper's eyes were locked on mine as he started rocking his hips faster and more forcefully, both his hands now holding my head. I encouraged him to go further by pushing on his ass with my hand, and he didn't hesitate, going deeper with each thrust. His breathing was ragged and he would utter a "Fuck yeah, Edward" each time he hit the back of my throat.

He gripped my head harder, moaning loudly, his cock sliding in and out my mouth so fast that I didn't have time to swallow my own saliva. My hands grabbed his ass harder, my fingers digging into his skin before I let go of it to play with his nipples, twisting them slowly the way I knew he loved. He shouted an "Oh, fuuuck", and after a few more thrusts his cock twitched before he came in my mouth. I swallowed the best I could, staring at him during his orgasm. Fuck, he was so hot I was close to coming myself.

Jasper slid down my body and kissed me deeply. "Fuck, Edward that felt so good. I love watching you suck me."

I chuckled and bucked my hips, making my cock slap against his ass. He gave me devilish smile and stood up.

"Hey, where are you going?" I remained on the floor and wiped the saliva and cum off my lips. He came back just then and knelt next to me, before grabbing my cock with a lubed hand. You have to appreciate a guy who thinks about lubing his hand before stroking your dick.

He stroked me slowly, his eyes never leaving mine.

"I'm going to cum really fast if you keep that up, Bruce."

"And who said that wasn't my goal?" He gripped it tighter then and kept a fast rhythm. My hips bucked with each stroke, his hand playing me in a way only my hand had been able to achieve until him. I was the one moaning now, mouth open, breath ragged, our eyes locked on his hand as it worked my cock.

Shit, he's - Fuck, Bruce had some mean tricks. I felt - Fuck, I couldn't think straight as I came, coating his hand and my abs. I was trying to catch my breath when he leaned down to lick the cum off me, sending another wave of lust through my body. He stood up and extended his hand to help me up. I caught it, and once I was standing up he held me, his mouth once again on my jaw. I tightened my arms around him, and pulled him closer to me; Jasper let his mouth trail to my ear and said,

"Your ass is mine now." He put a hand on my chest and pushed me on the bed, one of his knees on the edge of it between my legs, and then leaned forward. He put his hands flat on the bed on each side of my chest. "Actually, your cock is, too. Scoot back."

I did as he said, smiling at him and his new-found confidence. Jasper followed me as I pushed myself up the bed so he ended up in the same position above me. He looked me in the eyes, then trailed his gaze along my body, making my cock harden. He dipped his head, trailing kisses along my torso, his eyes back on mine. His tongue licked and his mouth nipped at every spot he knew would excite me before sucking on my balls. He latched onto them for a few minutes, making me writhe and sigh with pleasure, until my cock was hard again.

Jasper took hold of my left leg and pulled on it. Following his direction, I turned on my side but he wasn't finished. He pulled on my hips to put me on all fours, then pushed on my back. My head was between my elbows, my ass sticking up in the air in front of him. I felt his breath on my ass, and the anticipation was killing me, but he didn't tease me, his tongue soon tracing along my hole. He alternated teasing it and licking, his tongue flat on my skin from my perineum to all the way up.

I moaned loudly, my hands fisting the sheet and trying to buck my ass into his mouth. I didn't know what I wanted more, for him to continue like that or to feel his fingers in me. The pleasure he was giving me was mind-blowing.

His mouth left me and I whimpered. I. Fucking. Whimpered. I saw his hands in my line of vision, pushing on the pump top on the bottle of lube, coating his fingers. He grabbed a few sex toys from the top of the nightstand and a second later I felt one of his fingers push into me. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of his slow thrusts. He soon added a second finger, wriggling them inside, stroking my walls, brushing them against my prostate with each stroke. Fuck, I had missed this sensation. He added a third finger and started fondle my balls again at the same time.

I heard him moan and felt his forehead on my lower back before he kissed me there, twice. I knew how much of a turn-on it was to be the one doing the fingering, to be the one giving pleasure and I was sure he was as excited and horny as I was.

"Fuck, that's so hot, Edward."

He seemed to be having the same kind of thought. I tried to answer but only a weak "yes" passed from my lips. I was too lost in what his fingers were doing to find my voice. Jasper was stretching more, now, his finger fucking me faster. I rocked on the bed, meeting his thrusts. His hand left my balls and pushed on my hips to put me back on my side and he straddled the leg that was on the bed and made me put my other foot flat on his chest. The position gave him access to both my ass and cock. The way he was placed, his dick was rubbing against mine.

He picked up one of the yellow plugs I had bought yesterday. It was short but thick, with a wide base. I watched him coat it with lube. I felt the plug against my asshole but Jasper didn't push it in, he kept rubbing it against my muscle, which was driving me crazy.

"Fuck, Jasper, push it in!"

Jasper leaned forward to kiss me, slowly gliding his tongue on mine, our lips not entirely touching. When he leaned back, he pushed the plug slowly into me. He kept his eyes locked on mine, watching my every reaction, clearly taking pleasure from it. After sliding the plug in and out of me, he wriggled it, making me gasp. Then he tapped on it a few times and grabbed my cock.

My head shot back and I found myself clutching at the sheets again as he stroked me slowly, all the while moving the plug. I couldn't contain my moans and told him over and over again how good it felt. Jasper let go of my cock for a second before stroking me again, and this time both of our cocks were in his hands.

Jasper was blowing my fucking mind. I couldn't think straight. I needed to fuck him, I needed him to keep doing what he was doing, I just needed him. He let go of his cock and bent over to suck mine, his tongue doing his little trick again. I watched him as he sucked me, one of his hands stroking his own cock and the other one playing with the plug. Shit, he was stunning. I didn't know what face I made, but he started to laugh, my cock still in his mouth. He let go and pushed me on my back before straddling me, my dick nestled between his ass cheeks. I hoped he was going to fuck himself on me; fuck knows I couldn't wait!

One of his hands rubbed my cock and snaked to my ass to keep wriggling the plug, while the other picked up the purple dildo I had bought in the sex shop. Jasper grinned at me,

"Lube it, Alfred."

I gave him the toy back after having lubbed it thoroughly and he lifted his ass. I thought he wanted to use it on me, but apparently I was wrong. Taking both of my hands, he made me hold the dildo and place it just under his ass, then he slowly slid down on it.

"Oh fuck, Jasper, you're killing me!" My cock was rubbed on his ass each time he slid down on the toy, while his hand continued to play with my plug. Witnessing him fucking himself on a toy was turning me on so much that I almost came again. It was torture and sent shots of lust and pleasure through me at the same time. He started moaning loudly, which in turn caused me to make noises I didn't even know I could make. His cock bounced on my chest, and I bucked my hips each time, trying to find more friction for mine.

"Shit, Bruce, you're so hot right now."

"You like that, huh?" he gasped, then added, "It's not as good as your cock. Mmhmm, your cock feels so good in my ass." I listened to him, open-mouthed, not in the least surprised by his words, but so turned on that I couldn't do anything else. "I'm sure you'd love it if I fucked myself on your cock instead. I can feel it on my ass. I feel the pre-cum and the twitching and I can feel how much you want me to sink onto it."

I nodded, incapable of speech in that moment. Jasper stopped his motion and leaned down until his face was inches from mine. "But I haven't finished with you."

Jasper got rid of the toy he was using and knelt between my legs where he retrieved the plug, before replacing it with the long one. His mouth was once again on my cock while he used the plug to fuck me with long but strong strokes. My hands shot to his head and fisted his hair; I was too far gone to even make a sound. My mouth opened on a shout that never came.

If I had thought it couldn't get any better, I was wrong. In one swift movement he unroll a condom on my cock, straddled me again and sank onto it in one motion, then lifted his ass a little and grabbed the plug to resume fucking me. Then he said,

"Fuck me."

I grabbed him at the waist and lifted my hips to fuck him, and the feeling was indescribable. The motion thrust the plug in deeper, and in this position his ass was gripping my cock harder. We both gasped and moaned, feeding off each other's lust as our own spurred us on. He kept asking me to fuck him harder and deeper and in return I asked the same from him. His movements with the plug were becoming messy but even more enjoyable because of that. He finally fisted his cock to pump it fast, thrusting the plug one last time into my hole and leaving it there. He put his hand flat on my chest, the other still pumping his cock, and moved his hips to meet each of my thrusts.

I felt his ass tighten and a string of 'fucks' left his mouth, his cock spurting cum all over me. With the feeling of my muscles tightening on the plug and his ass spasming around me, I couldn't hold it and pushed him forcefully on my cock. My hips jerked and my legs shookas I came, leaving me panting, sweaty and physically spent.

Jasper lay down on top of me, mixing his cum and our sweat, and I kissed him, one hand cradling his head, the other still on his ass.

He broke the kiss and looked at me, smiling, "I think I delivered this time, Alfred."

I laughed and my cock slipped out of his ass, so I pushed Jasper a little in order to pull out my plug. I turned us around so he was under me and left open kisses along his throat. "Time to shower, Bruce."

"Yes, but admit it, I delivered."

"You did, you really did." I kissed him one last time before standing up, pulling him with me. We picked up all the used toys to bring them in the bathroom with us.

*.*.*

"It's about fucking damn time, boys! My beer is getting warm!"

I shook my head at Bex, who obviously wasn't drinking her first beer. "We were busy, Bex."

Jasper sat down next to me, and handed me a beer before taking a gulp of his.

"Please, no details. She made me go knock on your door; I can tell you that with the noises you were making I ran right back here!"

We all laughed at that, well, maybe not Bruce, who was back to being self- conscious. He blanched a little, and I squeezed his thigh. In the end, he just shook his head and chuckled at the situation.

Poor Emmett, on the other hand, was still making a face even though he was laughing, which made Bex burst into laughter as well. "She's evil! I'm sure she knew what she was getting me into!"

Bex, Jasper, and I nodded in answer, making him utter an "Unbelievable".

When we had gotten to the car this morning, Emmett had been there. At first I thought he was there for a last goodbye, but he had a bag with him and a puppy dog expression on his face that could give Jasper a run for his money.

We all liked Emmett so it was a no brainer. He hopped in the car with us, and that was it.

I listened to Bex and him banter, but I mostly paid attention to Jasper. He was tense again, something he shouldn't have been after all that had happened in our bedroom, so I came to the conclusion that he was thinking about calling his mother, again.

"Hey, are you alright, Bruce?"

He nodded and smiled but looked anything but happy. "You want to do it now, right?"

Jasper's eyes grew wide. "How do you always know?"

"I just pay attention, Bruce." I drank some beer, then added, "So you do?"

He sighed, and his shoulders sagged. "It's driving me mad not knowing. I'm feeling sick just thinking about calling, but I don't think I have a choice anymore."

"Okay, then do it. You want me to come with you?"

He shook his head, stood up and kissed me before walking away. We were in the motel's garden and there were a lot of pathways. I followed him with my eyes until I couldn't see him anymore, then looked at Bex.

She sent me a sympathetic smile. "At least he'll know, Edward. And he's got us."

Emmett was trying to understand what was going on, but didn't ask any questions. He knew when not to, and I liked him even more for that.

Emmett and Bex asked me questions about what we had seen when we had taken the car earlier, but I didn't have much to tell them. It was mostly wilderness. That's why it would be a good place to go backpacking.

"Will you go hiking with them, Emmett?"

"Yeah, maybe for a short while. I don't want to be there to witness what they might do to commune with nature."

I laughed at his words, thankful that he was taking my mind off Jasper's phone call, a little. "You really think we're beasts, Emmett."

"No, I think you're two horny fuckers still in the early stage of your relationship. You'd fuck anytime, anywhere, and I don't mind, but I don't want to be there."

Ah, he wasn't wrong. Trees and Jasper. That could be fun. Emmett was probably right to not want to join us for that.

Bex pointed a finger at me "You're already thinking about everything you can do there!" I chuckled and shrugged, so she turned to Emmett. "You're right to want to avoid that. We'll find something else to do. Maybe we can play poker."

"Hey, no poker without Jasper and me! Plus, Emmett didn't say he was against hiking, just against sleeping within ear-shot of us. Anyway, I don't think we'll backpack here; only hiking."

"Fine, no poker. So, you're going to go with them, Emmett?"

He took a sip of his beer, thinking. "Yeah, I think I will. Sounds like fun."

We talked for a while about what to do here; there was a nice lake and Sleeping Bull was famous for its hot springs. People came here for the thermal baths more than anything else.

Jasper had still not come back, and it was a possibility that the phone call would last a while if his mother was responding well, but I was worried anyway.

I didn't care much about what people thought of me, but Jasper was very sensitive, mostly when it came to his parents. I agreed with him that he needed closure one way or another, but I didn't want to see him unhappy. Not because of some dickheads who couldn't care less about him.

I stood up and followed the path I had seen him take, looking around trying to spot him, but had no luck. I kept walking the different pathways, backtracking numerous times before my eyes finally landed on him.

He was sitting on a bench, his head between his hands. That didn't look good. I sat down next to him and stroked his hair. He turned his face towards me, his eyes rimmed red by his tears. That motherfucking piece of shit, what the fuck did she say to him? I pulled him to me, tucking his head under my chin and holding him as he cried.

I didn't speak until I felt his sobs become sniffles. "Tell me."

Jasper took a deep breath, shaking. "She answered and she talked to me. I- I thought maybe it wouldn't be so hard, after all. It wasn't going to be bad, and we could at least talk. But she-"

Jasper shot up to a standing position, and with one hand on the bench for support, started to vomit. I got up straight away and put my arms around his waist to hold him. His legs were quivering, and I was sure he'd have fallen otherwise. I didn't want to tell him that everything was going to be okay, because I had no idea if it would be. I fucking hoped it would be because didn't deserve to be in pain or physically sick over their fuckery. So I said the only thing I was sure of. "I'm here, Jasper. I've got you. I'm here."

He gripped my hands that were locked on his chest and started crying again, but still nodded each time I told him I was here for him.

I turned him around, and held his face as I wiped the snot and vomit off it with my sleeve. He started crying again and I pulled him flush against me, holding him tight. We sat on the bench again, but I didn't ask him anything this time. He needed to calm down first. Not able to do anything about it was driving me mad; it was really hard to see him in this state. I had seen him like this once before, the day he had called me to pick him up after the dinner at his parent's house, but this time it was worse. There were no ifs or maybes this time. I guess that his reaction to getting closure this way was as close to mourning as it got.

"What the fuck? Oh, I'm going to kill her!"

Bex took a seat on the other side of Jasper, gently touching his hair then squeezing his shoulder.

"Don't touch me too much. I puked. Edward's shirt is proof of that."

"As if I cared about my clothes, boy."

"Puking is healthy, isn't it, Bruce? Cats do it."

Jasper chuckled as I repeated his words, just as I'd hoped he would.

Emmett sat down next to me and we all stayed silent for a moment. A few people passed us by, some glancing at us. I guess we made for a strange picture in this garden, four people sitting in a row, silent, and probably looking sad.

Jasper sighed and stood up. "I need some time alone." He started walking towards the motel but then stopped and looked at me over his shoulder. "Meet me in the room in an hour?" I nodded and he kept walking.

"Are you okay, Edward?"

"I'm alright, Emmett, don't worry." I couldn't say I was the happiest person right now, though. Pissed and worried, yes, but I was okay.

"You think Jasper is going to be okay? He seemed in really bad shape."

"Jasper is stronger than people give him credit for, and more than he himself believes, for that matter." That didn't keep me from being worried. His self-confidence was becoming more apparent each day, and I didn't want that phone call to be a step back. Jasper was a wonderful guy who deserved to know his own worth; he was a force to be reckoned with but he didn't seem to realize that. Not with parents like his.

"I still want to pummel the bitch."

Emmett and I laughed at Bex's outburst. Emmett leaned forward to look at her. "You'd beat someone up? Why am I not surprised?"

"I would." She sighed. "I already did. But his mother doesn't deserve my time or energy, so I won't go through with it. I just like to picture it."

I wasn't surprised that she had beaten up someone. Although I wondered why and if it had anything to do with her time in prison.

"Ah, so it's his mother." Emmett was merely stating a fact, but again, didn't ask questions. He frowned and sadness clouded his face. I knew he was sad for Jasper, but that was different.

"Are you alright, Emmett?"

"Yeah."

His tone told me it wasn't entirely true but if he wasn't ready to share then who was I to ask questions. Bex smiled at him and I understood that she knew whatever was going on with him. She caught me watching her and pointed at my shirt. Yeah, Bex was good at diversion.

"Edward, you're smelling foul." I guffawed, half from nerves and half because Bex was right, the smell coming from my shirt was awful. She patted my knees. "What do you say about going back to our table? Our beers are waiting for us."

Once seated, I drank my beer slowly, listening to Emmett and Bex's banter. I wasn't much in the mood to talk but watching them interact was fun. I knew Bex wasn't much in the mood either, but she was trying to lift up the mood a bit.

"And that one?"

"What? No!"

"You're being picky, Emmett. She looks nice."

"She said 'like' five times in the last sentence, and she doesn't even look legal."

"Oh, that one is drooling over Edward." She pointed to a brown-haired woman sitting a few tables over. "Wave at her, Edward. You'll make her day."

I frowned, looking at Bex. "Why would I do that? At best she'll think I'm a moron, at worst she'll try to talk to me because she'll think I'm interested. Ask Emmett to do it."

"Plus she has a vagina, Bex. I like them. Edward doesn't."

"Yeah, and you have a cockring to try out, but each woman I show you, you dismiss. You'll never get to use it!"

"I'm so touched that you worry about my cock, Bex."

I groaned at his words. "That sounded so wrong. Okay you two, don't molest anyone while I'm gone. I'll text you when I know what we're doing later."

I rushed out, anxious to see how Jasper was doing. When I entered the room, it was dark and I could make out his form under the bed covers. I took my clothes off, happy to finally get out of my shirt; the smell was even worse behind closed doors. I crawled onto the bed and joined him under the covers.

He had obviously showered as his hair was still wet. I snaked a hand around his waist and pulled him to me. He turned around, our chests now flush together and entangled his legs with mine. I felt one of his hands clutch at my back, then his mouth found mine, and we kissed slowly. His whole body was so tense; I wondered again what his mother had told him to put him in that state.

Jasper turned on his back, pulling me with him so I'd be on top of him, and wrapped his legs around my waist. He rocked against me, showing me what he wanted; I broke the kiss to look at him. The amount of pain and trust I saw as I stared at him overwhelmed me. He threaded his fingers through my hair, and pulled to resume our kissing. If that's what he wanted then I'd do it, not that it was a bother. I stretched my arm to pick up a condom and the lube, but when I tried to move to put it on, he stopped me.

He took the condom, put his legs back on the bed and pushed my hips up while still kissing me. My arms were holding my weight as he unrolled it on my cock, his lips never leaving mine. With one hand he lubed himself and my cock, before grabbing it and placing it against his asshole. I leaned on him more and entered him slowly at the same time as his legs found purchase around my waist once again.

He sighed in my mouth and cradled my head to his neck. I kept a slow but steady rhythm, only moving my hips. He held me tighter and moaned softly in my ear as I moved. His cock, wedged between our abs, rubbed against us with each of my motions; I thrust just a little deeper, which made him whisper 'yes' in my ear several times.

The slow movements I was making brought me more pleasure than I had thought possible; feeling him so close, hearing his soft panting noises made me moan. He turned his head to kiss me, trailing his tongue against my lips and nipping at them. We kept kissing as I slid in and out of him, until I felt his cock twitch and he threw his head back. I licked and kissed his neck as he came, loving the soft sounds he made. I felt my cock become harder and I fisted his hair, my mouth so close to his ear, gasping as my own orgasm overtook me.

My cock was sliding out of his ass so I snaked a hand to retrieve the condom; he didn't let go of me as I did that, just whispered, "Stay here." I didn't move, I only hold him tighter and we fell asleep in the same position.

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><p><strong><em>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<em>**


	14. Come on, Batman

_**Thanks to Dariachenowith and Chrissy, they tell me when I suck and that's true friendship. Thanks to WendyK, beta extraordinaire.**_

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><p><em><strong>A huge thanks to YOU for all your kind words and the love you have for these characters. Once again I failed at review reply but you know I will write you back, right?<strong>_

_**Kgq writes "Best part of me was always you" (E/J) if you're not already reading it, you should give it a try. You'll find the link in my favorite.**_

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><p><em>Disclaimer: Vodka is the answer. Not twilight.<em>

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><p><em><strong>Jasper<strong>_

I felt Edward's stare as I walked away. I didn't stop until I found a quiet spot, and sat on one of the benches there. I couldn't believe how nervous I was. I felt my stomach churn, and I wiped my hands on my pants before taking my phone out of my pocket. Dang, why was I doing this to myself? It had only had been a few days. Maybe I should wait a week or two? Or a month. Maybe a few years, even.

But I couldn't. It was bugging me too much, and it would only get worse if I didn't face the music.

I hit the call button and waited for her to pick up, or for her voice mail. Voice mail sounded good right now. I could just leave a message that would-

"_Hello?"_

Not the voice mail. And why "hello", she must have known it was me from the caller ID. I was pacing, trying to put my brain back on track.

"Uh, Mom…"

"_Jasper."_

Followed by a very uncomfortable silence. I didn't know what to say. I had hoped for a 'how are you?' at least. But she hadn't hung up so I decided to be the one to ask that question. I sat down because I was shaking too much.

"How are you?"

"_As well as can be, considering the circumstances." _

I didn't know what to say to that. What did she mean exactly? The fight? Not hearing from me? Regretting what happened?

"I, uh, I guess it's the same for me?"

"_When are you coming for dinner?"_

"I'm, ah..." What could I say to that? "I'm not in Seattle anymore." The fact that she wanted to see me gave me hope, even if her voice was cold. But I was used to that. I couldn't say my parents were the warmest people I knew.

"_When are you coming back then?"_

I stood up and started pacing back and forth again. "I have no idea."

"_You're not making any sense, Jasper. It's a simple question. You must know when you'll be back. So?"_

"I'm on a road trip with some friends. We'll be gone for a while."

"'_Some friends'? What 'friends', Jasper? Do you really think the solution to your problems is to throw away your future? They mustn't be very good friends if they're trying to make you screw up your life like this. You never were able to choose your acquaintances wisely."_

Her tone was so condescending and patronizing.

"You're wrong on both counts, and they didn't make me do anything. I chose to leave."

"_To do what? Be a drifter? That's a wonderful future, Jasper. Now, you're going to pack your bags and come back to Seattle, do you understand me?"_

I shook my head no, which of course she couldn't see. "I won't. I'm sorry, I can't come back now."

"_Why on earth not? You're coming back, end of discussion. I won't put up with your childish behavior any longer!"_

I couldn't believe her. "I'm not coming back, Mom. I'm not. I'm on-"

"_Yes, a road trip with 'friends'. My son isn't going to live like a hobo just because his so-called friends said so. I raised you better than that. Now stop talking nonsense. If you're back in the next two days, you'll be able to meet with another firm. It's a great opportunity, you have to take it."_

I felt like I was in the twilight zone. "Mom, I don't want that life! I don't want that opportunity. I'm sorry, but that's just not what I want! Can't you understand that? I don't even know if I want to practice law."

"_You're just saying that because of that little argument you had with your father."_

"I'm not. And it was a fight, mom, not a little argument. If you remember, it started because I tried to tell him I didn't want that kind of life." I sat down on the bench and tried not to get angry. "He was awful to me, too."

"_Your father only stated the truth, Jasper. It's nothing to feel hurt about. We gave you everything necessary to be wealthy and have a great life and all you do is whine about it like a brat."_

Who was I talking to? This couldn't be my mother, right? I thought she would understand, but her attitude and taunting were killing me. I knew this could turn bad, but it didn't keep me from feeling defeated. And sad. I was on the verge of crying when I told her,

"I'd have thought my happiness would be more important to you than the goals you set for me."

"_Oh, now you're going to cry? You're not going to make me feel guilty, if that's what you're aiming for. I wanted a fighter for a son. Listen to you right now, you're just acting like a whiny fool. You disgust me. After everything we invested in you, this is how you thank us? Following some losers around on a 'road trip'. "_

She fell silent. I had no doubt that she meant every word; her tone said it all. I was at a loss as to what to say, I didn't feel like defending Edward and Bex, they were far too wonderful to be dragged into this. I wanted to scream at her, to tell her to go to hell. I wanted to hang up or throw my phone, but all I did was stay on that bench listening to her breathing. After a few seconds she went on.

"_You're just so weak all the time. I'd hoped you__ would change and man up, but you never have. I thought we could make something out of you, but you're just not good enough. And you're such a selfish brat. You could have it all, but no, you'd rather throw everything away, not caring how it affects the people around you. Did you stop to think about us or Angela, for that matter, even for a second?"_

What the- "I'm gay!"

"_Ah, yes, of course. I'm sure your 'friends' are happy about that and take great advantage of it. Do you really need to go around saying that all the time? We built something great for you but of course it's not enough for you."_

"You're not listening to me! I don't think it's great for me, I want to- I need to find my own thing! That's why I left. I have the opportunity to really find out what I want and who I am. It will be good for me, Mom. I'm not going to ruin my life just because I spend a few months on the road. I think it's important for me to do it."

"_You have no idea about what is important, Jasper, and I have had enough of your nonsense. If you don't come back right now, you can forget about us. It's your choice, now. I won't give you my support if you persist on ruining our lives."_

She was giving me an ultimatum? Why did she think it had to be one or the other? I couldn't leave Edward and Bex, I'd be miserable and there was nothing for me in Seattle. Surely she was just trying to scare me, right?

"I don't want to come back to Seattle, Mom. I'm sorry, I can't."

"_You're such a disappointment. I thought your little stunt at dinner was just a phase but now I understand that I was wrong. You're not the son I thought you were. I guess you were just a bad investment. Be whatever you want, Jasper, I don't give a damn. You just showed me how incompetent and stupid you are. I can't believe I wasted so much time on you. Your father was right. You're not worth it."_

"I don't-"

"_Don't. I don't care. Go waste your life, but I'm not going to let you waste my time anymore. Don't call me back, either, it's useless."_

I didn't want to cry, but I was bawling mess. I was angry at her, and even more at myself for letting her get to me like that. "What about a mother's unconditional love, Mom?"

She snorted. Snorted! _"Other mothers must have better sons than you. I can't love someone unconditionally when they are such a failure. I don't think anyone could. Now, I'm going to hang up and I don't want to hear from you again. You're dead to me, do you hear me? I'd rather have a dead son than a failure like you." _

She hung up on those words. I was too stunned to take the phone away from my ear. It took me a long while to even comprehend everything she had said to me. I was still crying and trying to make sense of it when I felt Edward next to me. He asked me to tell him what had happened at the same moment that I completely realized what she had said; my stomach churned and I couldn't hold back my nausea. All I knew was that I was thankful to Edward for being there, but the rest didn't make any sense to me. Why would she cut me out of her life just because I didn't want to go back to Seattle?

Bex and Emmett were there, too, but I was too lost in my own thoughts to really pay attention. I needed to be alone. I needed to make sense of it. She had messed with my head too much.

Once back in my room I took a shower, but not only because of the puking. I felt as if I needed to cleanse myself of her, and her words. I stayed under the spray for a long time. I was mad at myself for still crying and at her for making me feel like shit.

I dried myself quickly and lay down under the covers of our bed. It smelled a little like Edward which made me cry more. Crying more wasn't what I wanted to do, and even less when it was about him. I still felt dirty. How could words make you feel dirty? Maybe she was right; maybe it was because I was weak. Someone stronger would shrug it off because she had proven in this one conversation alone that she was far from being either sane or trustworthy. She sounded crazy, and still her words had hurt me like hell.

When I felt Edward behind me, then his arms around me, I ached for him, as if his presence and body, his whole being, could in itself cleanse and heal me. The way he made love to me blew my mind. I needed it so much right then, and he understood that. I fell even more in love with him in that moment, and I knew that if there was one person I couldn't live without, it was him.

I woke up later with him half on top of me, one of his hands in my hair and the other holding my hand. I checked the time on the nightstand and realized it wasn't late. I hadn't slept more than an hour and a half. He woke with a start a few minutes later which made me laugh; it was strange to see him lose his usual cool. He turned around and leaned on the headboard, then closed his eyes, waiting for me to talk if I wanted to.

I loved that about him, the space he gave me. He was respectful of who I was and what I might need. After that ducking conversation I'd had on the phone that stood out even more. As I explained what had gone down and what my mother had said to me, he never interrupted, only waited for me to be done before he reacted.

He huffed and rubbed his hands over his face, then he looked at me and watched me for moment in silence. "Your parents need intense therapy and strong medication."

I chuckled at his words. It didn't ease up my messed up mind, but it helped a bit nonetheless. "Yeah, probably."

"How do you feel?"

"Okay, I guess."

He narrowed his eyes. "I didn't ask you to give me platitudes, I asked how you were feeling." He paused. "How _do_ you feel?"

I should have known that response wouldn't fly with Edward. I don't even know why I'd said that. Reflex, I guess. I tried to find the words but couldn't. Nothing made sense in my head. I decided the best thing to do was just to say it out loud. He was used to my brain vomit anyway.

"Bad, lost, sad, weak, whiny... did I say lost already? Lost. I don't know how I feel. I'm a mess, and I can't hold onto anything to make sense of what happened."

I turned on my side and pressed my face to his chest. I felt his hand in my hair and focused on his breathing and the rise and fall of his torso.

"Why do you feel weak?"

I started to answer, but my voice was muffled since my mouth was against his skin. I turned onto my back but let my head rest on his chest. "I shouldn't have let her get to me like that. I shouldn't be in this state because of her." I took Edward's hand as I talked, and he closed his fingers around mine.

"I'd be a mess, too, I think. The important thing is to not stay a mess, Jasper." He sighed, then added, "I'm not the best when it comes to parental advice, but your mother obviously has some real problems, and what she told you says a lot more about her than it does about you."

"I know, but it's hard not to let it hurt me."

He gripped my hand. "I'm sorry that I can't help you."

I looked up to gaze at him. "You do."

"Okay. She's wrong. You know that, right?"

I hoped she was wrong, but she had messed with my head too much for me to really think she was. Her wishing I was dead rather than being me was just too hard to process. He sensed my hesitation and added,

"If she was my mother and had told me that, would you think she was right?"

That sounded preposterous. Of course that was a pile of crap. Edward was worth so much more. I guess he had a point, though. I shook my head in answer, but I couldn't help thinking that it was me it was addressed to, not him. No one would even think of saying that to him and not because I thought he was better than me, but because he came across as strong. She'd said all that to me partly because she knew it would hurt me. I wasn't as strong as he was, or at least I didn't look strong. The fact that I had let my parents rule my life for so long was good proof of that.

"Hey, don't do that."

I looked at him, surprised. "Do what?"

"Whatever you're doing in your head to belittle yourself." I opened and closed my mouth like a fish out of water, not knowing what to say. Darn him! He tapped my abs, then added, "You need to have a little fun."

I wriggled my eyebrows and he shook his head, chuckling. "Just thinking about that phone call makes your cock flaccid. I don't think you're up to it yet, Bruce."

"Hey, if you touched it, it would get hard!" I put both our hands on my cock, and I did get a semi but no real hard-on. Dang him for being right again! I couldn't believe I was letting my mother ruin my sex life, too.

"Come here." He pulled on my arm so I turned on my stomach and lay half on top of him, my head on his shoulder. He ran his hands on my back, then felt on of them in my hair. "I don't like seeing you like that, Jasper. As I said I can't do much, but you know I'm here for you, right?" I nodded, it was the only thing I could do; I was too choke up to speak, and I could feel tears coming. I didn't want to cry again, so I took a few deep breathe. He hold me tighter then whispered, "It's ok to cry, Jasper. Just let it go."

Of course I was a bawling mess in the next second. He held me while I cried, and never stopped whispering words of comfort. After a long while I finally calmed down but he kept me there until I relaxed. I didn't feel like sleeping and I was so fed up of crying. I sighed, then I felt Edward move and I looked up to see his phone at his ear. "Hey, Bex, your boy needs some cheering up." I could hear Bex's voice, although I couldn't understand what she was saying. "Okay, see you there."

"Come on, Batman, they're waiting for us at the bar." He stood up to search in his bag for some clean clothes. "Get up. Bex is going crazy not knowing how you're doing and there's a vodka bottle waiting with your name on it."

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The hotel bar was grim to say the least, but it was the best place to be because Bex and Emmett were there. We had barely entered when they both stood up and cheered us. Dang, they were loud. Bex grabbed me and hugged me for a long time. Having her be so caring with me almost made me start crying again. I was turning into a mushy mess. I was a lot of things, but a mushy mess wasn't one of them. I wasn't a big crier. My thing was to vomit when I was overly sad, but mostly when I was stressed out. I vomit, but I don't cry.

There were a few things to eat on the table, plus a full bottle of vodka with four glasses._ Please, don't let me tell Edward he smells like dirt again._

"Sit down, boy." Bex made me sit between Edward and her, then poured a glass and handed it to me. "Now, drink. We'll talk later."

I gulped the vodka in one go and she filled my glass again. Edward handed me something to eat and filled three other glasses for them. We drank in silence for a while. Edward's arm never left the back of my chair, and I could feel his thumb tracing patterns on my shoulder from time to time. Emmett looked at me, but stayed silent and Bex only refilled my drink, motioning to me to drink glass after glass. The alcohol started to kick in, and I was grateful for that. It made my brain swim in much happier thoughts. But there was no more discussion, they just watched me as we drank, and it made me feel weird.

"Alfred, they're not talking."

"I know, Bruce. I think they're waiting for you to say something."

Emmett nodded at Edward's words while Bex only refilled my glass again. I emptied it and looked at her. "Since when did you start waiting for me to speak first? You always have something to say."

She waved dismissively. "It's different tonight. I don't know what happened with your mother, but it sounds worse than usual." I cringed when she mentioned my mother, so she added, "See what I mean?"

I saw what she meant. I think. It was hard to focus on one thought. "My parents are dicks." Edward chuckled next to me. "What?"

"I'm having a flashback, Bruce, that's all."

He was smiling. I loved his smiles, he had a lot of different smiles. I guess it was the same for me, but I didn't care much for my smiles. His were great, though. Sometimes he could get me hard just with a smile. Okay, it was also because I knew everything he could do, but still, I loved his smile.

"Ouch! What the duck, Bex!" I rubbed my head where she had hit me. She had hit me! I ignored Emmett and Edward as they laughed, and only focused on Bex.

"I'm only doing what you asked me to do, boy."

"Huh?" She gave me a pointed look. "I don't get it, Bex. What are you doing?"

"I give up, boy. Keep drinking. You need it."

I looked at Emmett and Edward to see if they knew what she was talking about, but they only shrugged. Why would I ask her to hit me? Maybe the alcohol had messed her brain up, she- "Ah! Thanks, Bex." Then I whispered in her ear, "I was being all love struck, uh?"

She nodded. "A minute longer and you'd have started drooling, boy."

Then I was really drunk. I didn't feel it, though. Or maybe that was why the bottle of vodka was spinning.

Emmett watched Bex for a moment, then asked Edward, "Do you understand what's happening?"

He shook his head. "Nope, I'm not even trying to understand."

Emmett nodded and emptied his glass. "So your parents are dicks?"

Wow, how did he know? Emmett was really clever, I wondered if he was like Edward; maybe he knew what was going on in my head right now. If I pictured Edward's cock, would he see it? I hoped not. Mhm, Edward's cock.

"I, ah, I don't think I'd see it, no."

I looked at Emmett, wide-eyed. "You can hear me?" I turned to Edward. "Emmett can read my mind!"

They burst into laughter, before Edward replied, "We can all hear you, Bruce. You're talking out loud."

Huh. Was I? "But he knows that my parents are dicks!"

Emmett tried not to laugh. "You said it earlier, Jasper."

Ah. _Yes, I remember, now_. That made more sense and I was happy he couldn't read my thoughts. "Yes, they are dicks. And my mother would rather see me dead than let me be who I really am."

There was silence and I looked up to see what had happened, but I only caught a glimpse of Edward as he nodded. I wondered what that was about. I tried to pick up my glass, but it kept moving; glasses can't be trusted, I tell you.

"What?" Bex put the glass in my hand. "She said that to you?"

I nodded a few times. "I'm a disappointment." I blinked and gulped my vodka. "I don't want to be a disappointment. Being a disappointment sucks." Dang, the food had disappeared. That wasn't normal; food shouldn't disappear. I lifted an arm to call a waiter.

"Boy, look at me." I did as she asked, my arm still in the air. "She's just a dumb cunt and she doesn't deserve to have you as a son. Do you hear me?"

I nodded, but I wasn't convinced. I knew she was right at least about the cunt part, but it was really hard to believe I was worth something after what she had said. I needed more alcohol, and my arm was starting to hurt.

Bex stroked my face, sensing that what she had said hadn't gotten through. "You're not in any shape to talk about it now. Forget about her and get hammered, boy."

Her hand was still stroking my cheek. She had to stop that or I'd cry again. I wouldn't cry. That was weak, right? Where was the damn waiter?

I turned to Edward to ask him where the waiter was when I saw that he was talking to a waitress. Where had she come from? I listened to him ordering more food and alcohol and watched her as she looked at him as if he was, ah, I don't know, something to eat, probably. Maybe pretzels or fries. Or chicken. Now she was smiling and leaning over him. Seriously?

"You can try, but you won't get anywhere."

"Excuse me?"

Ha ha, she was talking to me! Wait. What? Oh yeah. Back off lady. "He isn't interested. He won't bend you over the table, no, no." I shook my head while I spoke but stopped quickly. The movement was making me dizzy.

Emmett guffawed, and Bex patted my hand. The one on the table, not the one in the air. My arm really hurt now. "Edward, my arm hurts."

He grabbed my hand and lowered my arm to the table, but kept my hand in his. He always knew what to do to ease the pain. "I don't think she's interested anyway, Bruce."

I snorted. "Of course she is! She was smiling and leaning over you. And she, ah, whatever. She is."

He shook his head as the waitress left to fetch his order or to seduce another gay man, I don't know.

"So you're the jealous type, Jasper, huh?"

I picked up the glass Bex had refilled for me before staring at Emmett, who had spoken to me. "I am not. I don't care if a football team tries to seduce him. I just want people to know we're together."

Edward's eyebrows shot up. I loved his eyebrows and he did this thing when- "Ouch! Bex!" I didn't even look at her, focused as I was on Edward's face.

"I think you need to eat more, Bruce. You're starting to get really drunk."

"I am not! Well, okay, maybe a little." He chuckled at my words so I added, "Maybe I'm a lot drunk. The room is spinning a little."

Emmett lifted his arm to drink his vodka, and I followed the motion, entranced. I liked his tattoo. It didn't make any sense. I could only see colors but it was preeeeetty. I felt Edward's fingers under my chin as he pushed on it to close my mouth.

"Are you aware that you've been staring at Emmett, open-mouthed, for the past five minutes, Bruce?"

I shook my head slowly. "I like the pretty colors, Alfred." I extended my arm on the table towards Emmett and waved my hand so he'd take it. His face showed surprised, and after glancing at Edward, he finally grabbed my hand. I leaned forward. "I'm so happy you came with us. You have preeeeetty colors, and you make Bex laugh."

Edward was laughing next to me. I don't know why he was laughing; it wasn't _funny. _I let go of Emmett's hand to slap Edward on the chest. "What are you laughing at?"

He caught my hand before I could hit him again, and held it in both of his. "You're making me laugh. I think you're even more drunk than you were the night we met."

"Jasper was drunk when you guys met?" Emmett leaned back in his chair, waiting to see if we'd answer him.

Edward nodded and chuckled, and of course Bex had to pipe up. "And Jasper put his best moves on Edward, didn't you, boy?

I had difficulty looking at her; my body didn't want to turn. Maybe I was paralyzed? I was warm and cosy but I couldn't turn at all. That was strange because I could still move my arms. I stopped trying to turn in my chair and glanced at Edward to see if he had noticed that I was paralyzed, but he didn't seem to.

"Edward, I'm paralyzed."

"What?"

"I can't turn to see Bex."

"That's because I'm holding you, Bruce. You almost fell a few minutes ago, remember? See those things around you? Those are my arms, so you don't fall again. They're what's keeping you from moving."

I did not fall, or almost fall. "I did not."

"Oh, you did, boy. It was funny, too."

They were all strange. I'd have felt it if I had almost fallen, but Edward's arms felt good so I didn't tell them they were wrong. I put my head on his shoulder and inhaled deeply as I sniffed his neck. He smelled like vodka.

"You smell like vodka, Alfred. I like it better when you smell like dirt." I shook because of his laughter. I loved his laugh. It was a good laugh.

"And that, Emmett, is drunk Jasper. We don't even need to tell you about the night we met. You're witnessing it."

"He clung to you saying he was paralyzed?"

"Ah, no. He didn't do that but he-"

I gasped and my head shot up. Not a good idea because the table was spinning. "Emmett, you're Robin!"

"I'm what?"

"Rooooobin!" I couldn't move because I was still paralyzed, but I leaned my head to the side to see him better. "You're Robin. Bex, tell him he's Robin!"

Emmett looked at Bex -because he wasn't paralyzed. "I'm Robin?"

"Oh, I can just see you in tights, Emmett. You'd be so handsome." Bex laughed really loudly then. How could she be so loud? She laughed louder than Emmett. I loved her laugh, too, though.

"I'm not sure I want to be Robin, Jasper."

"You have to! Tell him Edward."

He held me closer to him and kissed my temple. "I don't know, Bruce. He hasn't done anything to deserve it, yet."

I nodded a few times and drank my vodka. "Sure. Maybe later, then. I want to hike."

"Now?" Emmett was watching me as if I was crazy.

"I'm paralyzed and drunk so I can't hike now. Tomorrow morning... We'll go tomorrow morning."

"I'm not sure about that, Bruce."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not sure you'll be fit to hike in the morning. You can barely talk right now."

I didn't need to talk to walk. I just needed to not be paralyzed anymore. I shook my head at him. "No, no, I want to go hike. I need the exercise, and I need the fresh air." I stared at Emmett. "You don't know this, but I called my mother today."

That seemed to make them stop chuckling. What? He didn't believe me? I had called her, and she hadn't been very nice to me. Maybe he already knew about it, though. Had I told him about it? I blinked a few times and tried to remember but I couldn't think straight. _I love vodka!_ "I swear I called her, Emmett. And you know what? If I hadn't known Edward when I called her, I don't know where I'd be." I felt Bex's hand on my shoulder, and I grabbed it. "Plus he smells good, and he has a huge cock."

Edward laughed silently. "Ah, thank you, I guess. You're thinking a lot about my cock, Bruce."

Of course I did, but it wasn't the only thing I thought about. "I think a lot about your ass, too. Don't worry, Alfred."

"That makes me feel so much better; I was worried for a minute." He was still laughing, I had the feeling he was being ironic.

"I'm so happy to know that, Jasper."

Emmett didn't seem to mean that. I don't know why, because every male should want to meet Edward's cock. "It's not the biggest I've seen, but he can use it like no one else." I still couldn't see Bex, but at least she seemed to enjoy what I was saying much more than Emmett, based on her catcalling.

"I'm sure Emmett is glad to know that my cock is so great, Bruce."

"Oh, yeah. I am. I was wondering about it today, actually."

Wow, Emmett had been thinking about Edward's cock today! "Really?"

"Of course not, Jasper!" Emmett threw his arms in the air, and shook his head as Bex and Edward guffawed. That was sad. In my opinion Edward's cock was worth thinking about. Emmett slapped his palm on the table. "So, hiking?"

"YES!" Argh, my head! I started talking again but at a lower volume. "I want to do the trail Edward and I saw today. I don't think it's too hard."

"I'm up for it, but I'll be banging on your door early tomorrow, Jasper. You're sure you'll be up for it?" Apparently Emmett didn't believe me.

"Yup. Tell him, Edward. You're coming, too, right?"

He patted my hair. "I don't think I want to miss hiking with you while you're hungover. Of course I'll hike with you."

I was getting dizzy. Things were spinning. "Alfred, you should hold me or I'm going to fall soon."

"I got you, Bruce. You won't fall."

"See? That's why I love him. He's always got me."

Edward raised an eyebrow as he gazed at me.

"You mean you love him more than you love his cock, boy? How is that even possible?"

"Oh, I love his cock, Bex, but I love him way more." Emmett was watching me with a big smile on his face. I put my palm flat on Edward's chest. "It's true, Emmett, I'm completely in love with him."

Edward smiled and shook his head before kissing my forehead. I wanted to tell him he could kiss me anytime, and also that he was hot and wonderful. And that I loved him but I think I fell asleep.

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><p><strong><em>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<em>**


	15. I'm Robin, Batman

_**Thanks to Chrissy, Dariachenowith and WendyK for they help and friendship.**_

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><p><strong>Roads is back on a weekly update. I apologize for this break, I didn't think it would last this long. Life and work got in the way, add to that my total lack of organisation and here we are. I'm sorry for not replying to your reviews (but for a few) and the thing is, with work back on and three weeks of breaks, I don't think I'll be able to reply to your last reviews. Well, not if I want next chapter to be ready on time. So, I'm asking you a free pass this time around, but I'll answer to this week reviews as usual. :)<strong>

**I'm missed you and those chars, so i'm thrilled to be back on track!**

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><p><em>Disclaimer:<em>_ Drinks vodka, check; Has a sex life, check; doesn't sparkle like a barbie malibu on crack, check. This is not twilight._****

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><p><em><strong>Edward<strong>_

"I'm dying. When will we be there?"

Jasper had already told us five times that he was about to die. Waking him up this morning hadn't been a simple task; it took both Emmett and me to manage it. It took some time, too, but he finally got up. Our conversations from last night were slowly coming back to him and it was easy to tell when he had a flashback as he would groan and shake his head or utter an "oh, nooo".

He was lucky I had decided not to take the hike he'd wanted last night. I was pretty sure he wouldn't be up to it this morning, so I told Emmett we'd hike a shorter and simpler route. He didn't want to at first; seeing Jasper in misery this morning was a great moment for him, but I didn't back out of my decision, so he let it go.

Jasper walked slightly behind me, with Emmett ahead of us but close enough to still be able to talk with us. He laughed at Jasper each time he said he was dying.

"Do something. He's mocking me!"

Before I could tell Jasper that he was a grown man and could fight his own battles, Emmett spoke up and teased him some more. "I want to hike!"

"Shut up!"

I stayed silent, watching them act like children. Those two had some serious sibling rivalry problems.

"I want to hike! Let's go hiking when I'm not paralyzed anymore! To infinity and beyond!" Emmett faced us, walking backward as he tried to imitate Jasper's voice from last night.

Jasper looked at me wide-eyed. "I didn't say 'to infinity and beyond', right?" I shook my head as my only answer, unable to keep from smiling at the face he made. It was a mixture of resignation and horror. "Why did you listen to me? I was drunk!"

"Because Bex kept repeating that you meant _everything_ you said while drunk, plus it was fun to wake you up this morning and see your face when we told you we were going hiking."

Jasper huffed as Emmett and I laughed, then after a pause, he spoke again. "How is that fair? My mother messes with my brain, you all make me drink until I'm out of my mind, and _I_ have to hike on top of it?"

Jasper huffed again, making Emmett laugh even more; he turned around again to point a finger at Jasper.

"You're Robin! You're Robin!"

Instead of replying, Jasper picked up some pebbles from the ground and started throwing them at Emmett's legs. "Don't flatter yourself. You don't deserve to be Robin, you need to earn the title."

"That's what I said last night."

"I'd like to say I remember that, Alfred, but I don't."

Ah, yes, Jasper had yet to remember everything he'd said. Knowing Bruce, it would start him on a very long inner conversation.

"I don't want to be Robin, anyway!'

I laughed at Emmett. "Come on, Emmett. You'd look good in tights!" He flipped me off and walked faster.

If I wasn't mistaken, we were close to the turn-around spot we had decided on. Looking at Jasper, I could see he needed a break. The hike had been far from difficult, but the alcohol and lack of sleep weren't helping. It was rather clear that getting drunk had given him some relief last night, but the phone call to his mother was still occupying most of his thoughts. It was the primary reason why Emmett was acting so immaturely with him. He was trying to take his mind off things. We had exchanged a few looks already, conveying that it wasn't working all that well

I didn't feel I could help him much; it wasn't a pleasant feeling, but I was too biased to give good advice in this situation. I was already close to telling him his parents were stupid fuckers he should divorce. If Julian's crazy roommate could do it, then I'm sure Jasper could, too. I was fairly sure he could also sue them for psychological abuse seeing how they had treated him all these years. Fuck, if I kept that up, I'd end up having a conversation with myself, too. I shook my head, trying to clear my brain of the nonsense about divorcing parents, and Jasper glanced at me.

"What's up, Alfred?"

"You're rubbing off on me, Bruce." He squinted his eyes at me for a few seconds, then chuckled. "I said 'rubbing off' not 'rubbing against'."

"The first one is kind of scary but I'd love to do the second… I could be doing that right now if you hadn't insisted on this craziness." He extended an arm to indicate the trail and the view of the mountains.

I didn't reply. If I had, he'd start trying to turn me on, which he could do really efficiently. Being stuck hiking with a hard-on wasn't my idea of fun for today. It could have been, but Emmett's presence made that impossible.

We joined Emmett at the lookout point. He was already sitting against a rock, and Jasper almost let himself fall to the ground next to him. Before I was even seated, Emmett had handed each of us a sandwich and some water.

One thing I had learned this morning was that Emmett was really organized. I had just crawled into bed last night after undressing Jasper, and had only woken up when Emmett knocked on our door. I didn't give a shit about food. I hadn't even thought about it. Water, yes; I knew Jasper would need to hydrate himself often, but food, no. Emmett had woken up early in order to buy everything the three of us needed, and right now, I was glad he had.

Jasper ate in silence, watching the view and sighing from time to time. I put my hand on his right thigh and squeezed it lightly, but that only made him sigh again.

"Okay, that's it."

I didn't know what Emmett was up to, but he seemed decided. He moved to sit in front of us, and stared at Jasper, who looked from him to me a few times. Since I had no idea what was going on, I shrugged and waited to see what Emmett would do next. I shouldn't have taken a bite of my food because I almost choked on it at his next words. I'd probably need to learn another language with Emmett, too.

"Family is like sex, Jasper."

Jasper's gaze locked on Emmett's as he blindly looked for my hand and clutched it. "I'm scared, Alfred."

"Ah, Emmett, I can't really see how you're going to make sense of that. But please, go on."

"Having a family or not having one is always a problem, just like sex." I looked at him in wonder; I thought I understood what he meant, but that was still the weirdest thing I had heard in a while. He kept going, "If you don't have a family, you want one. If you have one, it brings a fuck load of problems, like your family not understanding your needs or you just wanting them to be different. Just like sex."

"You do understand that repeating 'just like sex' doesn't make it sound saner, right?"

He dismissed me and looked back at Jasper. "

"If you don't have a sex life, you want one. If you have one, chances are it's not exactly all that you want or need. Either way, it's a problem. "

"Oookaaay."

Jasper didn't seem convinced, and I couldn't say I was either.

Emmett huffed then, and seemed to think for a moment before speaking again. "I don't have one."

"A sex life or a family?"

"As a matter of fact, neither at the moment, but I'm talking about family." Jasper nodded and motioned at Emmett to go on. "I was in the system by the time I was eight years-old, and went from foster family to foster family. You know why?"

We stayed silent since it was a rhetorical question. "Because I didn't let any of them _be_ my family. I was angry at everyone and I preferred to bitch and whine rather than take the opportunity each of those families tried to give me. They were all nice, and ready to take care of me. I'd have had a good life growing up if I had stopped wallowing in my own misery, but I was bitter and it didn't get any better as the years passed. The families I met couldn't keep me more than a few months or a year at best because of my attitude."

He paused, and then gulped some water. "The only thing it got me was failing marks in high schoo land a direct ticket to jail. I'll tell you what I learned in those years I spent locked up. Your parents influence what you do whether they're there to educate you or not, but you don't have to let them define you. I defined myself as the one whose family didn't want him when I could have defined myself as the one more than 17 families wanted. I could also have realized that family is what you want it to be. Your parents are fuckers. So what? Do you even respect what they think?"

He didn't let Jasper answer. "I know you don't. You do trust and respect other people, those whose opinions count. You've got Bex, Jasper, and you've got Edward and I didn't even need to know you all for long to realize that they'd throw themselves under a bus for you. You've got a great thing going, but you don't seem to get that. They're your fucking family, and I'd give my right arm to have that. Forget about that bitch, start living for yourself and decide who you want in your life instead of who _should_ be in it."

Jasper stared at Emmett during his whole speech. I didn't think Emmett could talk that much; he nodded his head once then added, "Okay, I'm done."

Jasper stayed silent while he finished eating, and we let him process everything in peace. We looked at the mountains around us, and I was half falling asleep when Jasper spoke up.

"Maybe he's Robin, after all."

I kept my eyes closed. "I believe you're right."

"He did earn it."

"He did."

"I won't wear tights."

We chuckled at Emmett's words, and I replied, "But you'll need pompoms. You were a great cheerleader just now." To which Jasper agreed.

"Fuckers." I opened one eye to glance at Emmett who tried, but failed, to hide his shit-eating grin. He shook his head then added wistfully "Fuck, I'm Robin."

I nodded as Jasper asked him, "So, what do you say?"

Emmett snorted. "To the Batmobile?"

*.*.*

The mood was much lighter on the way back. I didn't think Emmett's speech would help sort out everything for Jasper, but it gave him another perspective of his situation. Watching him closely, I could tell something had shifted; he still had to deal with everything but I hoped it would make things easier for him. I walked behind Emmett and Jasper, listening to them first arguing about who was supposed to mention the Batmobile, then about whether Jasper was emo or not. I found it ironic that Emmett would call Jasper out about his failure to realize he was part of a family, when Emmett himself didn't seem to realize the same applied to him.

"You sigh all the time. You're emo!"

"I don't sigh all the time, only when I'm in a funk."

"Yeah, an emo funk."

"I'm not ducking emo. Edward, tell him I'm not emo."

"Of course he'll say you aren't, you're his boyfriend!"

I knew they were acting like that on purpose, but it was still too strange for me. They had both stopped walking and were looking at me, waiting for me to say whatever I was going to say.

"You two are crazy." I walked between them and went ahead. They started bickering again, so I added, "Play nice children or I'll have to punish you."

"Ooh, is that a promise?"

I laughed at Jasper's words. Emmett emitted a groan, and walked faster. "I don't want to hear about what you do in your bedroom."

Jasper spoke before I could reply. "Oh, come on Emmett, don't tell me you've never enjoyed being spanked or spanking someone."

"Never wanted to and I don't think I ever will."

"Never?"

"Never."

I saw Jasper shrug, out of the corner of my eye, but he didn't add anything. He seemed to forget all about Emmett when he put his hand on my ass. "So, if I'm a bad boy you'll punish me?"

"No. I'm pretty sure you'd love that."

He kept silent, so I turned my head to look at him. Yup, he was clearly picturing it. When we got to the car, Jasper was still lost in thought. When Emmett clapped his shoulder, saying, "I got to take a leak first", he jumped, startled.

"You okay, Jasper?"

"Yeah."

I chuckled and Emmett frowned, silently asking me what his deal was . "I believe he's picturing me spanking him."

"Okay, don't want to know about that! I'll only be gone a few minutes, so please don't do anything that could make me go blind when I come back."

I leaned on the car as he walked away, and Jasper put his body flush against mine. "You'd do it?"

"What?"

"Spank me."

I threaded my fingers in his hair and pulled his head back. "Isn't it that part of your little Kinky Butler Sex fantasy?"

"Yeah, but really, it can be done anytime, you know, in a softer way."

I smiled before kissing him. I wasn't against it and frankly, I was willing to do anything where Jasper's ass was concerned. He broke the kiss and bucked into me. Both our cocks were getting hard, and he kept rubbing himself. When I ran my hands down his back to grab his ass, he moaned as I hoped he would. I put my mouth close to his ear.

"Tell me what you pictured." Jasper always had precise ideas of what he wanted and how he wanted it. It was better cut to the chase and know now. One day he'd be demanding them, and I couldn't wait for that, but until then I'd have to show him it was okay to speak up and clearly say what he wanted, when he wanted it.

He bit me just under my jaw and clutched my shoulders. "I'm lying across your knees as you spank me, but softly. I'm not into pain." He chuckled, and added, "You're naked and I can feel your cock rubbing on my side, while mine leaks pre-cum on your thigh." He stopped to take a shaky breath, and I tried to keep my breathing normal myself, but the mental pictures he gave me were turning me on so much. He pulled on my hair. "You were so hot and made me so horny, that I kneeled between your legs to suck you off. Then Emmett clapped my shoulder. End of live mental porn."

We laughed, and I replied, "I want to live in your head, Bruce."

"I want to suck your cock, Alfred."

I had to remind myself that Emmett would be back any second in order to keep myself from pushing on Jasper's shoulders so he'd be on his knees and shoving my cock in his mouth. I looked at him when he started laughing.

"You're picturing it, right? You're picturing me sucking you off?"

"Actually, I'm trying not to make you blow me right now."

"No blowing anyone while I'm here, guys." Emmett was back and walked straight to the front passenger door of the car. "I'm in the front this time. I don't want to have to kill myself over your music again."

Once Jasper was in the back and I was at the wheel, I turned to Emmett. "You're not touching my iPod."

"Why? Don't tell me you're one of those 'my car, my music and you don't understand the greatness of the bands I have on there' control freak."

What the hell? "No, but your hands were on your dick two minutes ago. I don't want piss on my iPod."

"Oh."

Jasper was laughing behind us. "I don't know why you complain. At least he didn't make you listen to Elton John."

I couldn't believe he was still talking about that. It's not like I was a fan and had posters of him everywhere. "Yeah, yeah, Bruce."

Emmett turned in his seat so he could look at both Jasper and me. "I feel the need to complain! Did you listen to the songs he played this morning? No wonder you liked them with your emo mood."

"Again with the emo? I swear if you keep that up, I'll climb into the front and sit on you so I can suck Edward. I'm sure that will traumatize you enough to shut you up."

Emmett made a face, then dismissed it before continuing the discussion about music again. "One of the songs compared relationships to mitosis! And you're emo."

First Elton John was being attacked and now Andrew Bird? I stayed silent because they were still in their bickering phase. I thought of it as a rite of passage of sorts. I had no clue what they were passing through, but that's what it felt like to me.

Jasper huffed. "You're ticking me off with your emo crap. I know you're trying to keep my mind off things but it's getting old, _Robin_."

Emmett seemed to think for a few minutes, then he spoke up. "Okay, then I bet you that you'll act all emo before the end of the day. You'll sigh or go all 'why me, life is unfair'."

"What?"

I glanced at Jasper in the rearview mirror. He was looking at Emmett as if he was crazy. I checked the road, then glanced back at him again a few times. They were both ridiculous, but Bruce didn't seem sad or broken, so I didn't care if they acted like a couple of ten year-olds. "What exactly are you betting?"

"Gay Bingo."

I guffawed. "That's not something I ever thought I'd hear you say, Emmett."

"Yeah, and what do you know about Gay Bingo, anyway?"

Emmett shrugged. "I heard some guys talking about it back in the club in Billings, while you were doing fuck knows what. Apparently there is this huge Gay Bingo night once a month in Bismarck."

"Why would you want to go to a Gay Bingo?"

"That's the thing, I don't. But I know you'd love to drag me there and see Bex make my life miserable."

That I really wanted to see. Jasper seemed to mull things over. "I'm not emo, but if I get to see you play at Gay Bingo night, it's worth the bet. I can't wait to tell Bex!"

Emmett sent me a wary look, and I chuckled. I guess he didn't need to prove he'd throw himself under a bus for Jasper. He just had.

*.*.*

Back at the motel we looked for Bex in the garden. She was sitting where she said she would be, a beer in front of her, but she also had company. She waved when she saw us, and we took a seat at the table. "How was the hike? Did you take pictures of my boy when you woke him up this morning?"

Ah, yeah, she'd really wanted us to do that. "Nope."

"You're no fun, Edward!"

The waitress came to take our order, and I asked for a beer but Bex cut me off. "No alcohol for you three. Although I'm sure Jasper's blood still carries a decent amount of vodka."

"Why no alcohol? I think I can decide that for myself, Bex."

"If you really want to, go ahead, but I promised Walter," she gestured to the man seated next to her, "that you'd help him for a few hours."

I was surprised because it wasn't like her to force people to do anything. I looked at Walter. He seemed to be a bit younger than her, and obviously did manual work, mostly outdoor. He smiled at us sheepishly, not used to Bex's blunt way yet.

"Help for what?" Jasper had just finished ordering a coke when he asked the question.

"Two of the people who work for him are sick, and he needs help cleaning the stables."

The waitress was still waiting for Emmett and me to order, so we asked for water, and she left.

Walter piped up then. "I'll pay you! I talked for a while with Bex, and I told her about my employees. I wouldn't ask for help," he paused, "actually I didn't ask for help, she just said she knew three guys who would be up for it."

Bex grinned at the three of us. "Jasper and Emmett could use the money, and if I'm not wrong, Edward, you're on this road trip to find out what you want to do with your life, right? Well, try it, it might be your calling." Then she added to Jasper, "You too, my boy. Plus it means Walter will be free _tonight_."

I didn't think I'd find my calling there, but I'd do it. Clearly Bex had plans for tonight, who was I to keep her from finally touching a cock. "Okay."

Emmett didn't seem to care and shrugged. "Why not, if it can help." Then he turned to me and whispered, "Did she just imply what I think she implied?"

"Yup, she's having some tonight."

He stared at me wide eyed for a few seconds. "Shit, I can't believe she has a sex life and I don't. I can't picture her having sex, it's just too..."

"Why would you even try to picture her fucking? You're weird, Emmett."

"You don't?" He seemed surprised.

"No."

"I mean what would she say? 'Oh, yes, harder Walter, Harder! Put it all in!"

"'_Put it all in'_? Dude, who did you fuck in the past?"

We were whispering while Bex was trying to convince Jasper who frowned at us when I laughed at Emmett's words, wondering what it was about. He didn't seem enthusiastic about the job, and I think he was too tired to have picked up on why Bex wanted us to help Walter. "I was pulled out of my bed to hike and now this? Do you realize I'm still hangover and dead tired? I want my bed!"

Emmett snickered and uttered a "whiny" so Jasper squinted his eyes at him before shouting "Gay Bingo night!" He explained to Bex what that was about. Of course, she loved it, and I think Emmett realized then, that he was in deep shit. I was certain he would hear more about it in the days to come; Bex was too busy making sure _Walter_ would be free tonight to tease Emmett properly about Gay bingo.

Bex gazed at Jasper. "I'm sure your bed can wait for a few more hours." She said this nicely, showing that she wouldn't insist if he was in really bad shape. Jasper finally agreed but grumbled about her being a spankblocker.

I tapped his shoulder. "There are three of us. I'm sure we'll be finished quickly."

*.*.*

I should have kept my mouth shut. I usually do, so why didn't I do that this time? When we arrived at Walter's ranch, he gave us gloves and all of the tools we'd need for the job. He showed us where the hay was, then led us to the stable and started demonstrating how it needed to be done. The stable was huge, and I had to admit I was tired before even having begun.

Walter left us there, telling us he'd join us as soon as he was finished with what he had to do. Jasper, Emmett and I looked at each other before picking up a tool and starting to clean the stalls. There was no horse in the way, luckily.

"Oh, shit! It's shit!"

I laughed at Jasper, who had stepped in horse shit. "It's a stable, Bruce. What did you think we'd be cleaning?"

"I don't know! Not shit! Well, I knew, but I didn't want to step on it, darn it." He spent the next ten minutes trying to get rid of it. Emmett and I watched him, laughing our asses off and he flipped us off, saying, "You'd better work instead of looking at me. I'm not staying here all day."

We kept busy working, only stopping to drink some water. Emmett and I were going rather quickly, but Bruce wasn't that efficient. He spent his time cursing at Bex and repeating, "Oh, shit". That proved me one thing to me: I was totally whipped, because not only didn't it bother me, but I also found it endearing. I'd catch myself watching him clean a stall, or try to clean it at least, grumbling like a mad man. He was ridiculous. But the only thing I could think was that he was cute when he was being ridiculous, and that he was hot, too.

Walter joined us, as he said he would, and five hours later we were finally finished. We were sweaty, smelly, and dead on our feet, but it was done. Walter gave us something to eat, and paid us, laughing at our state and telling us that his two guys normally did all of it in less than two hours.

We walked to the car like robots, and once inside stayed silent for a few minutes.

"You need to start the car, Alfred."

I did so, but before driving away, I stated, "I don't want to work on a ranch."

"Hell no."

"Dang, me either."

"Good. Now let's go. We stink, and I don't want my car to smell like horse-shit for days."

*.*.*

We didn't bother looking for Bex when we arrived. The only thing we had in mind was a shower and some sleep. None of us had slept much the night before, and the day's activities had killed us. Emmett left us to go to his room, wishing us good night.

We answered in kind, but I'm not sure it was intelligible. We left our clothes on the bathroom floor and quickly showered together. After that, we fell into bed and Jasper snuggled by my side.

"I'd suck you off, but every muscle I have hurts and some I didn't even know I had. Tomorrow morning will be hell."

I hummed in response, my eyes fluttering closed. I wouldn't have minded a blow job, or giving him one, but now was too late. I could feel myself already drifting off to sleep.

I felt Jasper's head becoming heavy on my shoulder so I knew he was falling asleep too, if he hadn't already. I floated for a moment between sleep and consciousness, relishing the feel of his body against mine, and sleep overtook me slowly. Then I was woken up with a start, when Jasper's head hit my jaw as he jumped into a sitting position.

I rubbed my jaw as I looked at him. "Are you okay?" I could see his face clearly enough, but it was hard to decipher what was going on.

"I told you I loved you!"

"Yeah, you did, and you just destroyed my jaw."

He slapped my arm hard. That shit hurt. Then he asked, "Why didn't you tell me? When I asked you if I had forgotten anything else, you said no!" Then he slapped me again.

"Okay, you almost broke my jaw, now you're hitting me. If that's your way of loving me I'm not sure I'm ready for this abusive relationship."

He fell back on the bed and put his arms above his head. "Figures I'd say it while ducking drunk. Ah, well, whatever."

"Whatever?" Okay, that didn't sound like Bruce.

"Yes, whatever. Knowing you, you're ok with it and you probably already knew it. Then you're going to act like a Zen Yoda telling me everything is fine and that it's alright to feel this way."

"Ah, apparently you don't need me to have a conversation with _me_? Are we having conversations like that often? Because I'd like to be aware of what I say when I'm not speaking with you."

He knew I was teasing him, so he just shook his head, and ran the back of his hand on my jaw. "Am I wrong?"

"No. That's something I would say, you're right. But I'd still rather be the one saying it than have you putting words in my mouth.

"Yeah, I know." He snuggled against me again, then added, "Can I freak out tomorrow? I think it hasn't really dawn on me, yet. Then you can be all zen and wise, and of course we'll fuck because you always make me horny when you act like that."

I laughed. "If you rather do it tomorrow, fine."

I felt him nod and his hold on my tightened but he stayed silent. I stroked his back with one hand and thread the other in his hair, letting his breathing lull me back to sleep. It wasn't much more than whisper but I heard him, anyway; as I heard the pain and hope behind his words.

"Please, love me."

_Oh, Bruce._

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><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<strong>_


	16. Not yet, Batman

_**Thanks to KGQ for pre reading and telling me err well, not much (hehe). Thanks to Chrissy and Dariachenowith for encouraging me even when they're busy with exams, and thanks to WendyK, she rocks!**_

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><p><strong>A huge Thanks to you for reading and reviewing, I was so thrilled to have you back! I know I haven't answered to everyone, yet, but I will shortly! In this chap you'll find shout outs to the movies Freaks (Todd browning -1932) and Driving Miss Daisy (Bruce Beresford -1989), as well as a huuuuge shout out to the novel High Fidelity (Nick Hornby -1995)<strong>

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><p><em>Disclaimer: Since Bex didn't have sex in Twilight, it's not Twilight.<em>

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><p><em><strong>Jasper<strong>_

Emmett was right. I _was_ emo. That's the only explanation I had for half begging Edward to love me last night. He hadn't said anything, but I knew he'd heard me because his arms had tightened around me. I fell asleep not long after and spent the night dreaming of horse shit, or at least it felt that way.

Bex would hear about that. I don't know what had gotten into her to offer our help without consulting us. And now I was lying face down on the bed, and every muscle I had was hurting. I think Edward was still sleeping. I couldn't say for sure because it was impossible for me to turn, my arms hurt so much.

"Bruce."

Ah, so he wasn't sleeping anymore. I didn't want to move, well true, I couldn't move anyway, but even if I could have moved, I wouldn't have wanted to move. "Humph" I didn't feel very chatty, so that was the best I could do.

"Bruce."

"Yes."

"Are you alright?"

I wasn't. I was. I was pissed at Bex for making me hurt everywhere when I should have been waking Edward up with a blowjob. "I hurt."

"What? Where?"

"Everywhere! Don't you? I can't lift my arms, I can't push on them, I can't move. I'm like Prince Randian."

"Who?"

"You know the actor in Freaks, the one with no arms or legs who can roll, light, and smoke a cigarette just with his mouth."

"I don't think I know that movie."

"It's one of Bex's favorites. If one day she starts dancing around you chanting 'One of us! One of us! Gooble! Gobble!' you'll know you've been accepted into her freak show."

"I thought I'd already been accepted into it, haven't I?"

"You have been, you know you have been. Still, it's good if you know where it's from when she does it or she'll make you cry."

"Bruce?"

"Yes, Alfred?"

"Why haven't you turned around yet?"

"Oh, that. I can't really move. My muscles are too sore."

"If you move a little, it won't hurt that much anymore. Come on, Bruce."

I felt his hand pulling on my upper arm, trying to make me turn. "My arms are dead. I don't want to clean horse shit again; if Bex pulls something like that again, remind me to kill her first."

I heard Edward chuckle, then he turned me until I was on my back. "I don't think she did it to be mean, Bruce. Plus, you did promise her she'd see cocks if she came with us."

"I don't mind her touching cock as long as she doesn't force me to do things like that! She could have called to ask if we'd do it, I mean it's not like I'd have said no. I don't like that she did that, and I'd have thought you of all people would hate it, too." I didn't get why he was fine with it. We all would have helped her get laid, but this "you're going to do it" was ticking me off even if I loved her to death.

"I get why it pissed you off, but although I was surprised she acted like that, it didn't bother me."

"Why?"

"Because she would never hurt you in purpose, and I don't think she'll do something like that again. Plus I started this road trip so I could find out what I wanted to do. At least now I know I'll never want to do that again."

He laughed when I grumbled again, but I couldn't even hit him. "I think we should join them for breakfast so I can tell her what I think of her little stunt. Oh, and I can make Emmett miserable about Gay Bingo, too." At least I had something to look forward to; it was payback time for his "emo" crap.

I forced myself into a sitting position. My abs burned for a second then it was alright again. Maybe Alfred was right, moving would help.

"Where are you going?"

"Clothes."

"Aren't we going to talk about last night?"

"Nope." I didn't want to talk about how pathetic I was. He was still here, that was the only important thing to me.

"I want to, Jasper."

Darn, what did he have to say about it? I sighed. "Okay." I pushed myself up the bed until my shoulders touched the headboard. Edward was still lying on his back, so we were looking at each other upside down. "I'm listening."

"Okay, let's cut to the chase. Do I love you back? No. Not yet."

Ah, that felt really bad; Alfred knew how to be blunt. The 'yet' was nice, though. 'Yet' meant he eventually would, right? If you hadn't seen a movie, 'yet', it meant you wanted to see it. No? I think I'm right, 'yet' is a good word. Hopefully.

"Jasper!"

"Huh?"

"Can you come back to me please? I'd stop there, but you being you I think some more explanations are in order."

"Yeah. You don't love me back, _yet_. Go on."

"Bruce."

I looked at him, intrigued by the tone he used to say his nickname for me. He'd never used that tone before. He wasn't just asking me to hear him out; he was begging me. I motioned for him to go ahead.

"I'd rather be honest with you. I could just answer that I love you, too, so you wouldn't be hurt, but that would be lying. If I told you now, it would spoil everything for me the day I really _do _mean it. Plus you know I'm not one to say something and not mean it."

I nodded. He was right and as I said, the important thing for me was that he was here. Edward smiled and added,

"I'm happy, Bruce, and that hasn't happened in a fucking long time. I'm in this one hundred percent, but you can't be mad if I don't return your feelings after such a short time." He seemed lost in thought, and after a deep breath, he kept speaking. "But I trust you and I don't know if you realize how important that is to me. You know who the last person that I trusted like that was?"

I shook my head.

"No one. Ever. In all my life I've trusted all of one person and that's you." He chuckled. "Well, and Bex now, too, but really, the two can't be compared."

Dang, he was killing me. Having his trust was so important to me, and knowing I had it was mind-blowing; coming from him it meant so much more. But then again, if he loved me, too, it would be so much better, I couldn't deny that. I understood him, though; we hadn't been together for long and if I had fallen for him rather early on, it wasn't the same for him.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thrilled that you trust me, and I understand where you're at even if I'd rather have heard you say you loved me. Oh, and I love the word 'yet'."

He shot me a surprised look. "The word 'yet'?"

"Yup. You said, "I don't love you 'yet', implying it would happen."

I saw him reign in a laugh. "Is that so?"

"Yes. If I tell you "I haven't read Fight Club yet that means I'm counting on reading it, I just haven't done it yet."

"But you read Fight Club."

"That's not the point and you know that."

He knew exactly what I meant, so he nodded and smiled. I understood him, but I still felt like I was in a weird place. I think he must have felt it, too, because he rolled until his head was on my chest, into a position I had taken many times before. I liked that, that he was the one seeking my touch. I did what he had done each time, stroked his back and threaded one hand in his hair. I hoped it would soothe him as much as it did me.

He sighed, then I felt his breath on my skin as he spoke. "I love that you love me. I'm happy that you do, and it sure as fuck doesn't scare me, don't doubt that. I can't remember the last time I had someone to care about and even less, someone who cared about me; now I have you, Bex, and Emmett. It's foreign to me. I love it, don't get me wrong, but it's such a huge change. Sometimes I look at you and I remember where I'd be if you hadn't talked to me in that bar, and it freaks me out because you might not have talked to me and I'd still be living like I was."

"But I did talk to you." Okay, in what universe were we having this conversation, and when the duck did our roles reverse?

"Yeah, but what if you hadn't talked to me, or hadn't come to that bar, or if I had left early, or you had talked to the guy on the other side of you instead of moving bar seats?"

"First, Bruce Wayne, get out of his body, the lube compels you!" He laughed but I didn't give him the time to answer before continuing, "And second, what guy? The bald one with the ugly sweater?"

"Yeah."

"Sure, why not talk to him rather than you? Are you crazy?" That didn't call for an answer, so he stayed silent. "Since I did speak to you, why are you 'freaking out' as you say?" Seriously, what was happening? Shouldn't I be the one freaking out and him the one calming me down? I was the one whose love wasn't returned, that was one of the darndest scary things. Sure, it was less scary than being robbed at gun point or stumbling on Ben jerking off, that was a scary sight, plus he had the ugliest dick ever. And since I loved guys, cocks and wanking, that was saying something.

"I just realize each time I think about it, how much I'd have missed out on if you hadn't talked to me. It scares me."

"Like when you escaped death in a car accident and every time you think about it it gives you the chills?"

He nodded and I thought about it for a moment; that was when it hit me, I had nothing to freak out about just because I loved him, and he didn't love me. I knew where I was at, and what I felt for him mostly put me in a great place. It was strange to realize that I wasn't the one who was put in a vulnerable position by my sentiment for him, he was. He was still trying to sort things out under his calm exterior, and that made a mess out of him even if people couldn't see it.

It wasn't even really about us, but more about his life before me and the influence it had on him now. I had never had many people take care of me or to take care of, but Bex had been there, and she had given me all that my parents, or 'friends' hadn't. Even if Edward's parents were much better people than mine, they certainly hadn't given him what he needed, and he never had a Bex before meeting me. He had Julian, sure, but it wasn't the same. Out of the two of us, I think he had been the real lonely one. No wonder he was the one freaking out and needing reassurance that the fact that he wasn't in the same place as me wouldn't put a wedge between us. What he was asking me for was to give him time to get there at his own pace.

"To quote someone really wise, 'I'm here, Edward'" He snorted but it felt half-hearted. "I am!"

Edward tightened his hold on me, his face against my skin. "I know, Bruce. I know." He pulled himself up until his face was inches from mine, his body hovering over me. He stared intensely at me for a minute, then leaned down to kiss me softly. I put my hands on each side of his face as we deepened the kiss. I loved how he let his tongue glide against mine without ever totally sticking it in my mouth. A lot of guys tended to do that and it had always squicked me out.

He resumed his position and we stayed like that for a long moment, both lost in thought; at least I guessed he was also lost in thought. I'd scratch his scalp lazily, and he'd emit a sigh from time to time, showing me he was enjoying my ministrations.

I knew it already but it was staggering to remember that even if he appeared strong and confident, and actually was all that, Edward, like anyone else, needed to know he was cared after.

Love or no love, we were in a relationship, and he needed me as much as I needed him. The thought made me smile, and I didn't feel as foolish about the words I had uttered last night. He could have said the exact same thing, and in this strange situation, I think he needed my love more than I needed his_. For now_. I still thought that the day he said he loved me back; I would feel so much better.

"So, what now?"

"Now we're going to get Bex. She's not going to get away with it."

"Don't you think she's still with Walter?"

"Knowing her, she's alone." I checked the time on the nightstand. "She's probably having breakfast."

We both stood up with a groan. It was nice to see I wasn't the only one suffering. When I checked in the dresser I saw I didn't have any clean shirts left. "We really have to do laundry, Alfred. I have nothing clean to wear." He picked up a shirt from his backpack and threw it to at me. "I'm not wearing that, it's all crumpled."

"And?"

"And it's all crumpled!"

"Bruce, there's nothing wrong with this shirt, and all my shirts are like that anyway. So it's that or walking around bare chested."

"I want the shirt, but not all crumpled. Maybe I can find an iron somewhere."

"Why don't you put the shirt on and be done with it? It's not that crumpled."

"It _is _crumpled!" I started to try to smooth the wrinkles out of it, but it wasn't working. "If you put your clothes in the dresser there would be no-"

I couldn't finish because he took the shirt from me and crumpled it even more until he made a ball with it. Then he handed it back to me. "There, now it's really crumpled."

"Why did you do that?"

"At least now I can agree with you that it's crumpled."

*.*.*

As I thought, Bex was having breakfast. Emmett mustn't have been awake yet since she was alone.

She sent us a bright smile as we approached her table. "Boys! How are you?" I squinted my eyes at her, silently taking a seat across from her. She didn't try to pretend she didn't know why I was acting like that with her.

"Alright, I'm sorry, boy. It wasn't my best move, but he had rough hands."

Oh, yeah, sure then, if he had rough hands... Edward was watching us both with a small smile on his lips. "I'm going to get some food. What do you want, Bruce?"

I was still looking at Bex as I answered. "Coffee and whatever you're having." I felt his hand on my shoulder then he left for the buffet.

"Bex, I don't care if he has the biggest cock in Montana, don't do that again. I'd have agreed, you know I would have, but I didn't like what you did."

She gave me a half smile. "Being with Edward is doing you good, boy."

At the mention of Edward, I glanced over at him as he picked up our food and saw that he was talking with Emmett. "Uh huh." Maybe I could get him alone later, maybe we could even play out my little scenario. Maybe having a hard-on right now wasn't a good idea. I turned my attention back to Bex.

"Please don't do that again. I've left people behind who made me do things without my consent and who never asked me what I wanted. I know you didn't mean it like that, but that's what you did anyway."

Bex leaned over the table and patted my hand. "I'm sorry, boy. I just blurted out that you three could help before thinking it through. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

I nodded, and I knew she meant it, so I changed topics. "Sooo, does Walter have the biggest cock in all Montana?"

Her attitude changed at once from contrite to excited. "No, but boy, did he know how to use it! And his hands... You wouldn't believe what he can do with them. At one moment he-"

"I think I forgot to pick up something at the buffet!" Emmett and Edward were back at the table, and Emmett was about to sit down when he realized what Bex was talking about. He let his plate drop on the table and left as fast as he could.

Edward and I couldn't contain our laughter at his reaction. When he was far away from us, he shouted, "Tell me when it's safe to come back."

I started eating, and Edward asked Bex, "So Walter was worth all our effort, then?"

"Oh yes, he was."

He chuckled, then added, "How old is he anyway?"

"Sixty-five, so young still." She had a faraway look on her face.

Edward looked at me, feigning shock. "Oooh, Bex is a cougar!"

"Can I come back now? I'm hungry."

I motioned for him that it was safe to sit at our table, which he did.

"So, what's up? And no, Bex, I don't want to hear about Walter's exploits."

"Bex is a cougar. She likes to seduce younger men." Edward spoke, pointing at Bex.

Emmett looked at her, amused. "You're so kinky, Bex."

"And she got some when none of the rest of us did." She knew I was kidding, but she still glanced at me with a "You won't let it go, will you" written all over her face.

"Boys, if you keep that up I'll start explaining in great _details_ exactly what Walter did to me last night." She sipped some of her coffee, "I'm not sure you're up for it, but I'd certainly enjoy your panicked faces. I think they'd be close to the ones you're making right now.

"Yeah, please, spare us."

Edward snorted, and I gazed at him, curious.

"I just think it's funny that Emmett asked Bex to spare us the details when he was the one trying to picture her fucking yesterday, that's all."

"Fuck, I can't believe you said that!"

Edward was laughing at Emmett while I was still trying to process what he had shared. "You tried to picture Bex doing the deed? I don't know if I should laugh _at_ you or be worried_ about_ you, Robin."

"Shit, it wasn't like that! I meant- It's just that-When she-"

All three of us were looking at him and trying not to burst into laughter. I think Bex and Edward were as curious to know what he was going to say as I was.

Emmett shook his head, defeated. "Oh, whatever. Fuck it. It wasn't like that."

"So that's your thing?" Edward was desperately trying to stay serious.

"My thing?" Emmett locked gazes with him, wide-eyed.

I snickered so Edward squeezed my thigh to keep me from laughing, but it made him almost lose his facade. I turned to Emmett to say what I was sure Edward was going to say. "Yeah, if that's your thing, you know, picturing naked old ladies going at it."

"What the f-"

"Hey! I'm not old, I'm mature." Bex cut Emmett off. He looked half traumatized. As soon as she had spoken, I replied,

"Yeah, mature leaning on overripe."

"Hey, watch it, boy!"

"I'm not into old ladies!"

Bex and Emmett spoke at the same time. Edward was still trying to contain himself, but I could see his shoulders shake. I patted Emmett's forearm. "Hey, if that's your thing, we don't have a problem. Whatever rocks your boat, Robin. And Bex? You're old." I knew she wouldn't take that the wrong way; first she wasn't one to deny she was old, and then, she knew I mostly said that to get a rise out of her.

"I'm not into-"

"Okay, that's it. Not only does Walter have wonderful fingers but that man can use his tongue very-"

"Oh, fuck no, please, no. I can't! That's just-" Emmett stood up so fast he half knocked the table over. "I don't want to hear about that, Bex!"

"But, Em-"

He stopped me before I could even finish saying his name. "No! I don't want to hear what you have to say, either!"

He pointed a finger at Edward. "And you! Stop laughing!"

Of course that only made Edward let go and burst into laughter, which in turn made Bex and I join in. Emmett "humphed" and walked away

"Robin, come back!"

"Yes, come back, Robin!" Bex nodded to herself, then asked me, "So, he's Robin?"

"Yup. He proved himself worthy of the name." Edward was still laughing, his face buried in my shoulder. I snorted as I saw him try to calm down.

"Did you see his face?"

Emmett was almost out but turned around and came back to our table, where he picked up his coffee. "I'll be waiting outside." He sounded so outraged that it made us explode with laughter again.

"But Robin, you-"

"No! Shush… my brain feels dirty." He squinted his eyes at us and swiftly turned around.

Bex slapped her palm on the table. "Emmett is too easy. When is this Gay Bingo Night?"

"No idea, he didn't tell us, but please make him squirm."

She chuckled at my evil smile. Edward, who had finally straightened himself, spoke up. "You're so mean to him, but I'd like to see that. Try not to make him cry, though."

Like he didn't take pleasure in seeing him like that. "We should hit the road. I need to do some laundry and I want to move."

Edward looked at me, surprised. "But we didn't get to do everything we wanted to do."

Okay, like what? And each time I went outside I thought about my mother's phone call, so I'd rather change scenery. "What things?"

"We never got to spend time at the lake or backpack. And yesterday's hike doesn't count."

"Can't we do that somewhere else? It's not like this is the only place in the Continental USA where someone can do all that. I really want to move on if it's okay with everyone. Unless you want to spend more time with Walter?"

"Ah, no, it's fine. It was a one-time thing."

"You're a hussy, Bex."

Edward studied me for a few seconds and must have seen that I really did wanted to leave. "Okay, we can leave soon, and vacate the room before they charge us for another day. We'll do the rest in another place."

Uhm, yeah, I liked backpacking but I can't say it was on my top list of things to do right now. I watched him as he finished his breakfast. He hadn't shaved in a few days. That was hot. Yup, I knew what was on the top of my list and it only involved us, naked. He glanced at me a few times while I started to undress him in my head, then he winked at me. Dang, he always knew what was going on in my brain.

"I'd never thought you would postpone sex, boy."

"Huh? When did I do that?"

"Just now. Backpacking? That's Edward's code for wild fucking in the woods if I'm not mistaken."

"Ah, well, it's not a code, it's backpacking. But yeah, I'd be stupid if I missed the chance to fuck Jasper outdoors while we're there."

The both laughed at me, probably because I wasn't hiding the reaction to the pictures his words conjured in my head. Outdoor sex; Edward's cock outside. Oh, wow, we really need to go backpacking; now it was in the top five on my list! Trees, sex against trees...

"You're thinking about trees, aren't you?"

"Uhm, ah, yeah. How did you know?"

He kissed me then added, "Because it was the first thing I thought about, Bruce."

"As if I didn't already know you two had dirty minds. I'm so proud." Bex mockingly swiped the tears away from her eyes. "So, where do you want to go?"

Edward and I looked at each other before turning to Bex, and speaking in unison, "Wherever Gay Bingo Night is!"

*.*.*

As it happened, Gay Bingo Night was in Bismarck, so that's where we went. We hadn't seen much of Montana but maybe we'd do more things in North Dakota. _Yeah, like backpacking_. As the day progressed, my body hurt less, which was a good thing considering what I had in mind for later. Once breakfast was done we joined Emmett outside to tell him we were about to leave; he wasn't too keen on giving us the name of the town we needed to go to, but a bet was a bet so he finally relented.

Edward had packed his bag in two minutes since everything was still in it anyway. No, seriously, why not put everything in the dresser? I didn't think I'd be able to convince him, so I just decided to shrug it off and make sure I wouldn't have to borrow his clothes anytime soon.

Bex and Emmett were already waiting for us in front of the motel. "See Bex? They didn't abandon us so they could fuck."

"And that's so sad when you think about it."

She was kind of right. It was sad, but the day wasn't over yet. As Edward and Emmett put our bags in the car, I whispered to her, "Don't worry, Bex, and just so you know, later today, if you want to be entertained, don't count on us."

"Oh, you two have plans?"

"_I_ have plans. Well, they're not really plans, just, you know... Whatever. Anyway, don't count us."

"No worries, boy. So you're feeling better?" I smiled and nodded. She patted my arm saying, "You come find me if you want to talk, but you know me well enough to know I'll come find you soon if you don't." She chuckled, and opened the car door to sit in the back.

"Nope, you're in the front this time." Edward had told me he hadn't slept enough last night, it seemed he had been worried about my reaction to what he had told me this morning. I wasn't going to let him drive, Emmett and I could do it instead. Bex moved into the front seat, and I took the keys from Edward and gave them to Emmett.

"I hope you're not counting on making out in the back while I drive."

I pushed Emmett into the car. "You can bet we will, now get behind the wheel."

He bowed before opening his door. "Yes, Miss Daisy." When Emmett was seated, I pulled on his hair sharply. He howled and gave me the finger before switching on Edward's iPod. "Go make out but no moaning! And you can't bug me about the music."

Bex chuckled. "Why did you have to say no moaning?"

Emmett started the car and looked at her. "Maybe it makes you all hot and bothered, Bex, but it doesn't work on me. I don't want to hear that shit."

She patted the hand that was on the gear shift. "You'll learn, Emmett."

"Learn what?"

Edward and I were laughing in the back seat, then he started kissing me, moaning louder than a porn star faking it. I had difficulty kissing him back since I was laughing so much; his tongue spent more time licking around my mouth than being in it.

Edward unfastened my seatbelt and pulled my knees toward him, so I was half sitting, half lying in a weird sideways position; then he crawled over me. From what I could see, this position couldn't feel that great for him, either. He resumed his kissing and moaning, encouraging me silently to do the same. After ten minutes anyone would have thought there was a porn being shot in the back of the car based on the sounds alone. It was ridiculous. We were still faking most of the moaning but we were caught up in the game and we weren't laughing as much anymore. Emmett's curses and Bex's laughter didn't allow us to forget where we were, but each time Edward ground his cock against mine, I'd forget we were just doing it to mess with Emmett.

"Okay! Okay! I get it! Never give them ideas they wouldn't have come up with on their own, Stop it! Plus Bex is ready to take her camera out."

We chuckled, and while we stopped being noisy, Edward didn't move positions at all. Emmett turned up the music a little louder 'just in case', and he and Bex talked about which way would get us to Bismarck faster.

"You better sleep, Alfred, because when we get there I'm not going to let you rest much."

He locked gazes with me and smiled. "Yeah?"

"Yup."

"I gather you have something in mind?"

"Several somethings, and each time your cock ends up in my ass."

He mustn't have had any objections to that since he kissed me again, one of his hands sneaking under my shirt and gripping my side as he rubbed his cock against mine a few times. I loved how me saying the word cock could turn him on so much. We tried to find a good position to rest, and half an hour later he was asleep, his head on my lap while I stroked his hair and neck.

*.*.*

"Now you get naked." We had finally arrived. I didn't end up driving at all. I fell asleep not long after Edward, and neither Emmett nor Bex wanted to wake us up. From what they told me, Bex had driven, but I still had to see it to believe it. They had just made a five minute stop to buy some food. I was surprised we hadn't woken up then. Once we got to the motel we split up, Edward and I taking the food we hadn't eaten and leaving Bex and Emmett to do whatever they had decided to do. I was so horny that I didn't think we would sleep anytime soon.

"Okay." Edward chuckled as he started undressing. We still were a little groggy from our car nap but I didn't doubt that would change in the next few minutes.

I pushed our bags into a corner and moved one of the chairs from beside the bed to the middle of the room where there was more space. Edward lifted an eyebrow as I did so but remained silent. When he was completely naked, I pushed him until he was seated on the chair. He wrapped his fingers around his cock and started stroking himself slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. Fuck, that was hot... _Focus, Jasper_. Anticipation was clearly written on his face, curiosity, too. He watched me intently, waiting to see what I would do next.

I took my shirt off, and got down on my knees, before grasping his cock and sucking on his balls. His hands shot into my hair and I felt his body jerk a few times as he moaned. When I licked the head of his cock he groaned, and when I took it fully in my mouth he whispered my name and pushed on my head as much as he could.

I let him set the pace. He pulled on my hair and pushed on my head depending on the motion he wanted and I kept a hand on his balls, stroking them slowly the way I knew he loved. With the other hand, I opened my pants and freed my cock, not able to resist stroking myself.

Edward pushed and pulled on my head harder. He couldn't see exactly what I was doing but my movements gave it away; my groans and moans getting louder did, too, and knowing that I was wanking obviously excited him even more. I looked up and our gazes locked as I sped up my stroking, so close to coming now. When I felt his fingers gripping my hair tighter, I came all over the floor with a shout, muffled by his cock still in my mouth. He didn't release me, but instead he pushed harder on my head and came with something that sounded like both a groan and a shout. I was still stroking my cock, riding my orgasm, and feeling his cum shooting down my throat made my cock twitch again.

I bobbed my head up and down, to increase his pleasure, then Edward pulled me to him and kissed me. He made me stand up pushing my pants down so I'd take them off, then pulled me back to him until I was straddling him.

Both his hands were on my ass kneading it, as he licked and kissed my neck. I was hard again, already, and I could feel him getting harder quickly. He pushed on my shoulders so I'd lean back and one of his hands left my ass to pinch my right nipple, while his mouth bit the other.

I cried out at the sensation, making him chuckle, and after a few minutes of his ministrations my cock was aching. I was torn between sliding down on his cock to fuck myself on him, and lying across his lap to see how it would feel to get spanked just before he fucked me. In the end the spanking won, although I was pretty sure I wouldn't last long.

I stood up again to take my position across his lap and I heard him laugh so I jiggled my ass until his hand finally hit the left cheek. I moaned at the feeling, and also because our cocks were rubbing against each other. He put one of his flat against the small of my back, and then slapped my ass again. I could barely feel the sting, let alone pain, but just the idea alone that he was doing it could have made me come anyway. And as it was, I really didn't want him to put any more force into his strokes. Each time his hand hit my skin, I'd moan and repeat 'again', until I was so turned on that I couldn't take it anymore. I knew it was the same for him, I could hear his grunts and moans each time his hand touched my ass.

I got up and fetched the condoms and packet of lube I had put in my pants earlier and rolled one onto his cock while he coated it with the lube. I motioned for him to slide down on the chair a little; half a second later I was straddling him again, and pushing myself on his cock. I groan at the feeling, my ass clamping his cock with each shot of pleasure. He had his hands on my ass once again, so I caught them and made him grip the side of the chair, before putting my hands on the back for leverage and fucking myself on him.

We kissed open-mouthed, both moaning, and I could feel that he wanted to have his hands on me, mostly when I moved my ass like I knew he loved. Each time I felt his hands shoot up to my ass or back, I'd put them back on the side of the chair again. That would make him kiss me harder, his tongue seeking mine, his groans getting louder. I loved it.

"Fuck, Jasper."

I hummed as I sped up, even if my legs were starting to hurt, thanks to the little impromptu gym session in the stable the day before. When he tried to put his hands on me again and realized I still wouldn't let him do it, he snaked his arms under my knees, stood up and walked to the bed where he leaned down with me until I was on my back. He left my legs hooked over his arms and rammed into me, making me shout and ask for more. No, really, I asked for more, which he gladly gave me.

We were sweaty and both making nearly as much noise as we had earlier in the car. His mouth rarely left my skin, and I kept biting his forearms that he had placed on each side of my head.

It felt so good and gave me so much pleasure that I kept asking him to go on, and to fuck me harder. I also kept telling him how much I loved his cock, even though I'm sure he knew that by now.

Between gasps he uttered, "Put your hand on your cock. I want to see you jerk off."

I did as he asked, half because his voice was full of need, half because I loved it when he watched me do it. His eyes travelled from my face to my cock, then back to my face again. He did that until my moans grew louder, then his eyes never left my face.

"Fuck, yes Edward, fuck me. Fuck me!" He faltered for a second, and even in my daze I knew it was because my words had almost made him come. That, in return, made _me_ jizz all over my stomach as my body tensed and jerked; it almost knocked the wind out of me. He leaned on his elbows, his hands fisting my hair, his torso so close to mine as he increased the speed and depth of his strokes. I wanted to feel like that everyday, him filling me, the pleasure, the weight of his body on mine, the noises he made. I started begging him to keep going, I could feel myself getting hard again. He leaned back, holding the back of my knees and he fucked me harder just like I wanted. I fisted the comforter as my back arched from the bed, head thrown back. His breathing was heavy when he said "Look at me!" I focused on his face then on how his abs quivered as he kept fucking me.

He grasped my cock and stroked me hard and fast, my pants and moans getting louder each time he'd thrust into me. I was on the verge of coming again and the sensation was so powerful that I almost jumped, Edward kept stroking me but put a hand on my abs to keep me from moving too much so his cock would stay inside me. A few strokes later I came all over his hands but he didn't stop stroking me untill my moans became whispers, then he leaned on his elbows again murmuring things in my ear that I couldn't understand.

I pulled on his shoulders when his panting became louder; I knew it meant he was on the verge of orgasm. He buried his face in my neck and I bit him on his right shoulder a few seconds before he came with a shout, his body shivering, and his breath ragged.

His face was still in my neck when he spoke. "Fuck, Bruce, I love it when you have plans." We chuckled at his words, both trying to regain our breath. He leaned his head back to look me in the eyes, and smiled before kissing me. "Amazing."

"Don't think that we're done yet."

"Yeah? That's good news, Bruce."

"I wouldn't have told you to get some rest just for that, Alfred."

Edward pulled out of me, and threw the condom on the night stand before lying back on top of me. "Does it involve your tongue on my ass?"

"I don't know."

He hummed and pinned my hands above my head, then straddled me. "I'm pretty sure it involves your tongue on my ass, Bruce."

I shook my head no. "I'm not sure about that, Alfred."

"Oh, it does Bruce."

"Make me."

And that's how I ended up with Edward's ass on my face.

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><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<strong>_


	17. Of course, Batman

_**A huge thank you to Jill (KGQ), WendyK (Wendy5542) and Lisa Parker (17foreverLisa). As always, I couldn't do much without them, they're lifesavers and they kick ass.**_

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><p><strong>You know that saying that goes "Life is a bitch because if she was a whore it would be easy"? Well, I experienced that first hand. But let's focus on the bright side; I'm now able to resume writing Roads! Yay? Thank YOU for opening this chap, whether you had a "huh, what's it about again?" moment or not. And thank you for your tweets, PMs and Reviews telling me you missed this story, it was really heartwarming to read.<strong>

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><p>Disclaimer: I swear Jasper's and Edward's balls didn't shrink and fall off between the last chap and this one.<p>

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><p><em><strong>Edward<strong>_

"What, Bruce?" Jasper had been eyeing me disapprovingly since I'd first taken my clothes out to start my laundry. His facial expression might have been funny at the beginning, but now it was tiring.

"You don't turn your clothes inside out before putting them in the washer?"

"Apparently I don't, Bruce." I looked him in the eye and added, "Is it a crime against humanity in Bruce Wayne's world?"

"No, no. It's just-" He put the shirt he was holding on top of his washing machine and proceeded to turn it inside out, "- that washing them that way keeps them from being damaged, that's all. I do it with all my clothes, and it works."

"Well, I don't, and that works fine, too."

"But it's much better if you do!"

Why was he bugging me about the laundry? He wasn't the one wearing my clothes. "Can't you just take care of your own laundry and let me do mine the way I want?"

"I'm just saying that to help, Alfred." He fingered my shirt. "Maybe you could try it out, then you'll see I'm right."

Oh, fucking hell. "Bruce, I'm getting tired of your laundry ranting."

"Fine. Don't do it, then!"

"I won't. And I don't believe you do it with all your clothes."

"Of course I do, with every piece of clothing." Obviously he was miffed I hadn't agreed to do it his way.

"I don't believe that."

He huffed as he started his washer, then turned to look at me. "I'm telling you I do. I don't know why you say I don't."

I started my washer too, and leaned against it, trying to keep a straight face. "I don't see how you can do it with your bat cape, Bruce. It can't be turned inside out."

He threw his arms in the air, then turned around and sat down in a white plastic chair. "I give up. Plus, you put everything in the washer without caring about sorting the colors."

"Okay, Jasper. Listen." I sat in the chair next to him. "I've been doing my laundry by myself for about fourteen years now. I don't need you to butt in and tell me how to do it. Plus they're my clothes. Basically, if I want to wash them in cat piss, it's my call."

I looked at him expectantly. I didn't want to have to listen to his little rant every time I washed something, so he had to agree to stop this shit or it would grow old very fast. He stayed silent for a while, obviously lost in one of his inner conversations. I waited for him to start talking again, and watched the few people who were with us in the laundromat: a couple of girls, and a guy who looked like he needed a wash as much as his clothes. One of the girls was eyeing me, trying to be discreet but failing. She smiled at me when she realized I had caught her. Just then, Jasper spoke.

"Yeah, I get it. It's just if one day you do my laundry-"

I stopped him then. "In what universe would I be doing your laundry?"

He seemed taken aback. "Well, if I'm, err, we, you know-"

"No, I don't know. Please explain."

"Well, if we -," he coughed, "if I'm stuck under something really heavy one day, you'll have to do my laundry."

I almost burst out laughing at his words. We both knew that wasn't what he was going to say, but I decided to play his game for a few minutes. " 'Stuck under something heavy?' Are we talking about a dresser kind of heavy, or a rock kind of heavy? And just so you know, if that happens, I'll expect you to cut your arm off so you _can_ be there to do your own laundry." I paused dramatically. "Of course it will be harder for you to turn your clothes inside out with only one arm, but with a bit of training you'll be able to do it again in no time."

He shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "I won't cut my arm off just so you can escape doing my laundry." He accentuated his words with a nod, which made me chuckle.

"Sure, but you better buy a pocket knife just in case. You never know."

Jasper looked at me quizzically, then slapped his forehead. "I can't believe we're having this conversation! How do you always manage to turn a conversation into something so crazy, and make it seem totally normal?"

I patted his knee. "You're the one thinking that one day you'll be stuck under a rock, and apparently the best thing I can do to help you when it happens is to do your laundry, Bruce."

He put his head in his hands and groaned. "I didn't want to- that's not what I meant."

I lifted an eyebrow. "Yes, about that. What exactly _did_ you mean?"

Squirming in his seat, he passed a hand through his hair. "Well, we won't be on the road forever."

"Probably not. And?"

"And so that means we'll settle in one place again…" he let his voice trail off, expecting me to catch on to what he was saying. Which I did, and had from the start, but tentative conversations like this weren't my thing, even if his rambling was always fun, and dare I say it, endearing. But if he wanted to say or ask something, Bruce would have to be more direct.

Jasper groaned again, understanding that I wasn't going to make it easy for him. "If we… were to live together, maybe I'd get to do your laundry, and you mine." His voice was hesitant at the start but the rest of his words came out in a rush. "And I'd rather you didn't wash my clothes the way you do yours."

"Living together, uh?"

He looked taken aback at my words but composed himself and answered in a firm voice, "Yes, living together."

I had no idea if we would be living together in the future; I had no idea why we _wouldn't _be living together, either. But my confession that I didn't love him back was enough for him to handle right now and I didn't know if I should add to it by voicing my doubts about this, too. How can anyone know what will happen? I don't make promises if I'm not sure I can keep them, and let's face it, life has a way of screwing with your best intentions. "Why don't we see what happens, if and when we get there? In the meantime, you stop bugging me about the way I do my laundry, and if you're ever stuck under a rock I promise to turn your clothes inside out before washing them.

"Good enough. And just so you know: it's about 'when', not 'if'."

"Oh yeah?" Shit, I really liked self-assured Jasper.

"Yup. I'm irresistible. We both know it."

Ah, now he was being cocky. Or maybe not, since I could only agree with him on this. "Of course, Batman."

He made a face at me, then added, "You'll see, you'll see!"

"What will he see?"

Emmett had joined us and was emptyinghis backpack into one of the washers. We hadn't seen him yet today. He and Bex had been gone doing fuck knows what while Jasper and I slept in. Jasper and I got up out of our chairs and went to stand next to him.

"Hey, Robin, good to see you. So tell me, do you turn your tights inside out before washing them?" Bruce jabbed me a few times with his elbow as I was speaking, so I put an arm around his shoulders and kissed him. That made him stop hurting me.

Emmett looked at us as if we were crazy. "You were having one of your strange conversations again, right? Okay, forget it, I don't want to know what 'he'll see'. " He turned around to start his laundry, muttering, "I bet it's something weird and I'm pretty sure I don't want to hear about it."

Bruce laughed and slapped his shoulder. "So what did you and Bex do today?"

Emmett walked over to a chair and plunked down on it. "I can't tell you."

"Oooooh, Robin! Were you being dirty?"

I chuckled at Bruce's tone.

Emmett grimaced and kicked Jasper's leg with his right foot. "For all I know, you were the one being dirtier than a whole whorehouse last night. Mind your own cock and Edward's, and leave mine alone.

Ah, yes, it had been quite the night. Bruce and I had fucked through most of it, in almost every possible way. And contrary to popular belief, fucking didn't always have to include penetration. Going all night shouldn't ever be a problem and it certainly wasn't for us.

I must have gotten a glassy look in my eyes as I was remembering our fucks because Bruce said, "As you can see, I already do that very well," at the same time as he rubbed my cock. I swatted his hand away, mostly because I knew he was doing it to get a rise out of Emmett, and not really because he wanted to rub my cock. Which was sad because between his hand and remembering last night, I wouldn't have minded more rubbing.

"I know what you're doing and it won't work. I'm not going to tell you what Bex and I did today." And interrupting Bruce before he could come up with another innuendo, Emmett added, "And no, it's not sexual. You're sick, dude."

"Come on, Robin! What's with the secret? Tell us."

As per usual, Bruce and Robin were really entertaining to watch, so I sat down not far from Emmett to see what would happen. Jasper had gotten closer, towering over him for once since Emmett was sitting. "We have the means to make you talk." I burst into laughter at Bruce's awful rendition of a German accent. It was ridiculous.

"I know you two can be scary," Emmett paused, looked at Jasper, then me, and went on pointing a finger in my direction, "well, _he_ can be scary at least. You not so much, but Bex is scarier."

"Oh, thanks. Please emasculate me. I'm not scary but Bex is?"

"Well, yes she is."

Emmett looked at me, clearly searching for some back-up, but I put my hands up and stayed silent. Jasper went on, apparently not happy he wasn't scary. I have to admit he never looked scary to me, but I didn't doubt he could be fearless when needed.

"And I'm not scary?"

"Jasper, I didn't mean to offend you, it's just, well, I've met some pretty scary people in my life. Oh, and let's not forget that Bex did time in prison! And who knows why? I'm the first to know that doing time doesn't mean you're dangerous, but I wouldn't be surprised if she buried someone under a patch of tomatoes. She's scary!"

Bruce snorted, put a hand on Emmett's shoulder and pushed him back in his chair. Then he turned to me, and to my surprise did a perfect imitation of Jake Lamotta. "I'm gonna open his hole like this. Please excuse my French. I'm gonna make him suffer. I'm gonna make his mother wish she never had him - make him into dog meat... He's a nice, a nice kid. He's a pretty kid, too. I mean I don't know, I gotta problem if I should fuck him or fight him."

Emmett gaped at him, obviously not getting the reference but certainly thinking that no one would touch his 'hole'. I couldn't keep from laughing, and it became louder when Jasper pretended to brush off Emmett's shirt, then tapped his cheek before sitting next to him. Robin was still speechless, his gaze going from Jasper to me, his eyes wide as saucers.

"What the fuck?"

It took me a moment to regain my composure, and only then could I utter, "Robert DeNiro, _Raging Bull._"

"Well, shit, that was scary, dude. As I said before, you're sick!"

Jasper wriggled his eyebrows. "Maybe, but at least I'm scary. Yay!"

Emmett mouthed "yay" to me while shaking his head. I had to admit it killed the scary part a little.

"Right, okay, you're scary. Doesn't change anything. I'm not going to say a word, so stop asking."

The conversation died with that, and we watched our clothes wash for a while. Not that it was really interesting, but no one seemed to feel the need to fill the silence, which was kind of nice. The girl who had been eyeing me earlier was now folding her clothes, still watching me. Emmett was fidgeting in his seat, and when I gave him a questioning stare, he cleared his throat.

"Err, I was wondering if, uhm, you're sure I can go to this Gay Bingo night. They'll let me in?"

Jasper was faster than me. "What makes you think you they wouldn't let you in?"

"I'm not gay."

I was too baffled to laugh, but Bruce did, motioning to me to answer.

"Emmett, you don't need to be gay to go to Gay Bingo. It's called that because all the money goes to GLBT associations and they're hosted by GLBT people, but they're open to everyone." I shook my head at him.

"Oh, okay. Cool." He received a text then, and after reading it, asked us, "Can you two watch my clothes? I'll be back soon." And on that note he stood up and left.

Jasper and I looked at each other, wondering what that was all about. He shrugged and moved chairs to sit down next to me.

"So Alfred, you said earlier that you've been doing your laundry for fourteen years, so that makes me wonder if you started when you left home because that would make you way older than you said you were." He gave me a pointed look, waiting for my answer.

"Ah yeah, but I started doing it way before I left home. My mother decided her sons weren't going to be as clueless as her husband when it came to doing the laundry, ironing and cooking. She taught us how to fend for ourselves pretty early on. Of course, my brother found ways to still make her do all that for him, but I didn't."

"So you can cook?"

"Yes."

"That's-wait, if you know how to iron, how come you always wear crumpled clothes?"

I put a hand on the back of his neck. "Because I don't care about ironing my clothes?"

"But that's-" He stopped when I cleared my throat. "Yeah, okay, they're your clothes."

"You really do hate that I never properly fold my clothes, don't you?"

He closed his eyes. "With all my being, yes. You can't know how much I hate it."

I refrained from chuckling, and stroked his neck. "Well, get used to it. Although it's better when I don't have to live out of a duffle bag, but still."

He smiled hopefully, then said, "It's nice that your mother taught you."

"Yeah, she kept reminding us that our future wives would thank her some day. The next year I told her my future husband would thank her, maybe, but that there would be no wife. She just replied that it was nice knowing she wouldn't have to compete with another woman for my affection. Then she proceeded to tell me to be careful because teenage boys only think about sex, and not to give in until I was in love." I smiled, remembering her crazy talk, and how she never questioned my sexuality.

"Wow, I wish it had been that simple for me. How old were you then?"

"Fifteen."

"So did you wait?"

I looked at him, surprised. "Wait for what?"

"To be in love, you know, to err, 'give in'?"

Bruce was always funny when he was fishing for information. "Kind of."

"Kind of? You either did, or you didn't."

"I had a few boyfriends up until I was seventeen, then I met a guy and lusted so much after him that I didn't feel the need to wait anymore. I wasn't technically in love with him when it happened but we stayed together for three years, so yeah, eventually we were in love." Jasper made a face and I squinted my eyes. "Are you jealous of an eighteen-year-old boy from my past, Bruce?"

He blinked. "Kind of?"

"Kind of? You either are, or you aren't." He huffed when I threw his words back at him.

"Not really, but yes, a little. It's stupid, I know."

I pulled his head to mineand spoke close to his ear. "I kind of like it when you're 'kind of jealous'."

He sent me a doubtful look. "Really?"

"Yeah, if it doesn't lead you to make a big deal out of nothing. And really, my boyfriend from over ten years ago doesn't deserve your jealousy. After all, you're the one next to me and I haven't seen him for eight years. I think it's safe to say that if I was still interested in him, I'd have done something about it by now."

"True. You never get jealous?"

I pondered his question before answering. "Sometimes I do, but rarely. I often hear people say that if there's no jealousy there's no love, but I disagree. To me, jealousy has more to do with self-esteem and pride than with love. If you love someone, " I paused, then added, "and/or trust them, then there's no reason to think the worst of them, right?"

He nodded, thinking about my words. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

I shrugged before I stood up. "That's what I think, at least."

The washers had stopped by now, so we put our clothes in the dryer, before sitting down again.

"Wow, that girl has been flirting with you for a while now."

I looked up to see who he was talking about, and saw the girl from earlier. "She has. But if you noticed that, you also noticed I didn't flirt back."

Bruce snorted. "As if she stood a chance. She has the wrong set of sexual attributes."

I shook my head. "That's where you're wrong, Bruce."

He swiftly turned to me, almost falling off his chair. "What? But I thought girls-"

"- didn't interest me in the least?" I finished for him. "True. But you seem to think it's normal I didn't flirt back because she's a woman."

"Well, yes, obviously you wouldn't flirt with her."

"And just as obviously, I wouldn't flirt if _she_ was a _he_." He seemed puzzled, so I went on. "What keeps me from flirting with people isn't their gender, it's whether I'm with someone or not. Unless you decided to rethink our relationship in the last twelve hours, we're together, boyfriends and all." He nodded once. "So if I decided to be with you, why would I start flirting with someone else?"

After a few minutes of silence he seemed to have decided to say something, but Emmett came back, and Jasper seemed to change his mind about speaking.

"Hey, you're not naked and fucking against a washer, there's hope for you yet!"

Bruce put his hand on his heart. "Oh darn, Alfred, why didn't we think of doing that? Such a great opportunity missed."

"Oh yeah, Bruce, we could have rolled around in detergent and used fabric softener as lube. What a thrill that would be!"

"And don't forget the gawking girls!"

"Yes, yes, those too."

Emmett checked his washer, then turned to us. "Ha ha, you're so funny. Cut it out. I get it."

Bruce pointed at him as he spoke to me. "And he says we're the ones obsessed with sex?"

"I guess Robin needs to get laid, Bruce."

After sitting down in a chair next to us, Emmett said, "Of course I need to get laid. Who doesn't need to get laid? You two fucked all night and you still look like you need to get laid! But I don't need you to butt in, in that area. I get enough of that from Bex."

"Dang, I knew it!"

"I didn't mean it like that! You're so sick!" Emmett looked at me, then said, "He's been hanging out with Bex for far too long, I tell you."

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After our clothes were dry and folded –with Bruce trying very hard to ignore how I did it, which was good because I didn't feel like living for years with someone nagging me every day about the way I handled my clothes- we went to the motel to change into clean clothes, then directly to the diner where Bex was waiting for us. I wondered if we'd find out more about what she had been up to all day.

"So, was it fun?"

I frowned at her. "Laundry? What kind of question is that? Since when is doing laundry fun?"

"Jasper thinks it's fun." She looked at the menu, avoiding Bruce's glare.

He rolled his eyes. "I don't think it's fun."

Bex put her menu down and stared at him. "You told me you thought it was fun, to have dirty clothes come out all clean and then to iron them and fold them into neat little piles."

He looked at her, apparently trying to remember when he had said that. Although it wouldn't have surprised me if he really did find it fun. My boyfriend was clearly anal when it came to laundry. I snorted at the thought and Jasper glared at me, too. Then he leaned back and crossed his arms. "I said no such thing."

"Oh, yes you did, boy. The night you broke my shower."

Emmett guffawed. "Dude, you broke her shower?"

"Yeah, Bruce, tell us about that. I'm curious."

He waved his hand dismissively at us, having eyes only for Bex. "I was totally hammered! That night I'm surprised I didn't tell you I had walked on the moon, or had a talking dog!"

"Well, you did tell me you were the lost seventh member of the Village People, but that you had to quit because it was interfering with your superhero double life."

How she could keep a straight face while she said those things, I'll never know. I was laughing so hard I could barely breathe. Bruce had a lost look on his face, then he banged his head on the table. "Oh duck, I remember now!"

Emmett laughed. "Oh fuck, you really are Bruce Wayne! All these years hiding it, and it only took Edward one night to discover it." He extended his hand so I could shake it, which I did. "You're good dude, you're really good." Then he added, "Who knew Mr. Wayne was one of the Village People? Now the cape and leather outfit make so much more sense!"

Jasper threw his napkin and mine at Emmett. "You can talk, _Robin_."

"Oh, I _so_ don't care. Robin could be wearing pink tights and it would still be nothing compared to what I just heard." Emmett was laughing his ass off. "We really need to get you drunk again!"

That I wouldn't mind witnessing. I'd seen Bruce drunk twice, but both times it was on a day when he was depressed. I'd like to meet happy-drunk Jasper. "So, what about breaking the shower?"

Bruce groaned and put his forehead back on the table. Bex piped up, "Do you want to tell them or

should I?" He didn't look up, only motioned with his hand for her to continue.

"After his little confession, my boy wanted to prove he was telling the truth." She chucked lightly,

probably remembering the scene. "So he ran to my bathroom and jumped in the shower, and told me he was going to disappear when he pulled on the showerhead. Needless to say he didn't disappear, but it wasn't for lack of trying. He pulled on it so much that he ripped it off the wall. When he started doing the same thing with the pipe, I got him out of there, but it wasn't an easy fit task. I lured him with more alcohol and the promise that he could try again later. I made him drink so much he ended up snoring on my couch before he could break anything else."

"I'm so happy you shared that, Bex. I was thinking earlier that I needed a bit of mortification today."

"Aw boy, don't worry, I'll always be here to provide you with that." She patted his hand, and smiled at us. "Now, what should we order to eat?"

Emmett started to answer Bex, but Bruce cut him off. "Whoa, not so fast." He looked at Emmett with what can only be described as an evil smile. When he knew he had Bex's attention, he spoke slowly to emphasize every word. "Emmett has never seen _Raging Bull_." Then he leaned back in his seat, seemingly very pleased with himself and eagerly awaiting her reaction.

She mock-gasped and clutched her chest. "Noooo."

Bruce nodded. "He '_knows about it' _but he's never watched it_._"

Bex started with her "nooo" once again, as if finding out that Emmett had never seen it was the worst news she could have heard.

"Hey, it's not a crime! At least I didn't break your shower and-" Emmett was cut off once again, but this time by Bex.

"I don't know you anymore, Emmett. You've never watched _Raging Bull_? But it's _Raging Bull_! Fucking _Raging Bull_!"

"Yeah, ducking _Raging Bull_, Emmett!"

I started laughing at their faces, and at Jasper's outburst and his choice of swear word; he slapped my chest but stayed serious. Bex, on the other hand, couldn't manage it.

"Duck, boy? really? We're talking _Raging Bull_ and you use 'duck'?" Jasper shrugged in response. She gave me a pointed look. "Edward?"

I shrugged, too, smiling. Jasper could say whatever he wanted, plus I didn't want to be the one to encourage him to swear differently. It was a given that I enjoyed being the only recipient of his swearing; it was hot and definitely a turn-on. But it went beyond that. While I didn't feel the need to keep secrets, privacy was a rare thing on this road trip - which seemed to fit us all well – but I still appreciated having something that was only ours. Bruce winked at me knowingly and lifted his eyebrows suggestively.

Emmett had been laughing since Jasper used the "ducking" word, but a louder chuckle got Bex's attention off us and back to him.

"Oh, I wouldn't laugh, Emmett." That made him stop at once. "How in the hell have you never watched _Raging Bull_?"

"I don't know. I never got the chance, I guess? You can't expect me to have seen every movie!"

Bex squinted at him, which made him look first at her then at us with wide eyes. She asked sweetly, "Did you ever watch the _Notebook_, Emmett?"

He squirmed a little. "Uh, yeah I did, but-"

She cut Emmett off by lifting a hand. "Don't even try to explain that. Did you see-" she stopped a second to think, then went on, "_Ghost_?"

He hung his head, and after a sigh, answered, "Yes. But it's-"

Once again she didn't let him finish. "Oh no, I rest my case. Nothing will excuse the fact that you've seen those but _not _Raging Bull. I'm shocked Emmett, shocked!

Bex was being dramatic the way only she knew how, but it was clear she was offended he didn't know this movie.

Emmett shook his head and put a hand on her shoulder. "I saw those while I was in prison. What do you think they'd rather show a bunch of prisoners? Love stories or a violent movie about boxing?"

She seemed shocked for real this time. "Really? Violence isn't a good idea, but showing guys who are locked up in prison cells how to do the_ looove_ is?"

I chuckled at the same time Emmett rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, that's where most of my movie watching was done, so you can't fault me for it."

Bex nodded. "I'll let it go, then. But you have to see it."

"It's probably on demand. He can watch it at the motel." I suspected Bruce wasn't paying attention to them anymore, focused as he was on choosing what to order; not forgetting the hand on my crotch that was casually stroking my balls. Yeah, that was a little distracting.

"Great idea, boy." Bex picked up her menu again, and without looking at us added, "We'll do that."

Jasper sent me a cheeky smile and kept up his ministrations, which made me silently ask him why he was doing it when we were about to eat. After we ordered our food he leaned into me and whispered, "I have a plan." I smiled but stayed silent, waiting for him to explain, so he went on, "I'm going to tease you until you can't take it anymore and have to fuck me."

I frowned then chuckled. "You know that I'm not an animal, right? I can keep my dick in my pants if I want or need to."

He squeezed my crotch. "Oh yeah, I know. I also know there's no reason for you to_ want_ to keep it in your pants. And I feel like being fucked like a whore the moment you decide to unzip them." He paused. "You know how I love being bent over and fucked hard."

I threaded my fingers in his hair. "Bruce, you know you only have to say it and it's done."

"Uh huh, I know. But tonight, I'd rather you surprise me on the _when_."

"I really like this side of you, Bruce. I really do." Bruce telling me exactly what he wanted and how he wanted it was as much of a turn-on as what he was asking for. _Horny fucker_. I tugged on his hair. "Like a whore, then?"

He nodded, licking his lips, then kissed me quickly. He leaned back and asked Emmett and Bex what they were talking about, as if his hand wasn't still on my cock, and his words weren't stuck in my brain. Fuck, he was good.

The community center was walking distance from the diner, the exact reason why Bex had chosen it. It barely took us five minutes to get there, but it was one of the longest walks of my life. Jasper never stopped his touching –subtly and not so subtly- and I didn't want the hard-on I sported to go away, even though walking with a boner was painful.

We paid our admission at the door, and walked down a hallway to the room where the game was being held. In the next second a colorful Diva on roller skates came to greet us. "You're here! That's wonderful! I'm the amazing Mitzy Del Bra. Here, take these programs. You can sit anywhere you want." Then looking Emmett up and down, she added, "Well, you can come sit on my lap if you want, honey." He flushed red, muttering a "No thanks" which made her chuckle. "Too bad, honey. The bar is over there, and if you need _anything,_" she gave a pointed look at Emmett who decided to stare at his shoes, "just holler my name!"

"Uhm, thank you, sir."

Mitzy gasped. "I'm a lady, sweet ass. Am I not wonderful enough for you to see that?"

He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Oh sorry, yes of course, you're a, uhm...Thank you, miss." She went on to greet the people behind us, and Emmett asked me, "You know him?"

"_Her_. No, I don't. Why?"

"She said "you're here". I thought maybe you knew him."

I didn't think he realized he hadn't used the matching pronoun. "_Her_. No, she must say that to everyone."

The room was rather big, with decorations everywhere. There was a platform on the left, against the wall and above hung a sign that proclaimed "Honey, this isn't your grandmother's bingo!" I pointed it out to Bex, who gave an appreciative nod.

Most of the tables were already taken by people who were drinking and laughing. Besides the hosts, easily recognizable since they were three Divas on roller skates or transsexuals in blue uniforms, most players came from outside the community, here to enjoy the games or support the LGBT cause. Probably both.

We sat at a table that wasn't too far from the podium, Jasper next to me, and Emmett and Bex across from us. While she was looking around as if it was Christmas, Emmett leaned over the table to ask, "Why do you call him a she? He can't be considered a she, can he? He's a drag queen, right?"

I chuckled, but it was cut short when Bruce decided now was a good time to snake one of his hands under my shirt, caressing my back, at the same time the other resumed its place on my crotch. I took a deep breath before answering. "They're called Divas, not drag queens. He knows he isn't a she, he doesn't even want to be a she, but it's his costume for tonight so for now he's a she."

"Oh, okay."

He jerked when someone passed their hand through his hair. "I'm Loretta. What can I get you, handsome?"

"Huh, I-I"

"Oh, don't be so shy, sweetie. I won't bite. I'm just here to take your order. So?"

Bex, who wasn't speechless like Emmett was, answered, "I'll have a beer, and _handsome _here will too." Jasper and I ordered the same thing, and she left.

"So, he's, err, impersonating a woman, too?"

Jasper put his face in my neck to laugh as Bex piped up. "He's all yours, Edward."

"No. Why?"

"Well, you know... does it attract you?" Then he looked at Jasper. "Or you?"

Bruce hid his face against my chest, laughing too much to answer, so I did. "Emmett, she has tits. We're gay men. Why would we be attracted to her?"

"Yeah, but it's pretty clear he-she still has the plumbing downstairs**, **so he- they're gay, right? And you're gay, so..."

He let the 'so' trail off, waiting for me to say something. "Transsexuals aren't looking for gay guys, Emmett." I gave him a pointed look.

"Straight guys? But I'm straight and I can tell you there's _no_ attraction." He punctuated his speech with a face. "So if they aren't of interest to gay guys or straight guys, what's left?"

Bex decided then to stop gawking at the people around us. "Everyone else, Emmett. Plus I know some straight guys who wouldn't say no to her. It would be a turn-on."

"Then they're gay." Robin really thought he had it all figured out.

"Nope, because they're not attracted to gay guys."

"Shit, I'm lost." He looked around. "And that person, they're transsexual, too?"

Jasper took a look. "No, that's a transvestite."

"It's not the same thing?"

I shook my head in answer. "Transvestites get off on dressing as women, but they don't want to be one. Actually, there are as many transvestites in the gay community as in the straight one."

Emmett pondered this. "So they're like drag queens?"

"No, because drag queens don't get off on it sexually, they just like doing it for fun."

I heard him repeat, "Shit, I'm really lost."

Just then Loretta came back with our beers. After putting them on the table, she sat next to Emmett, who leaned slightly toward Bex. "I can see you're tense, handsome. I know many ways to make you relax."

"I-err- that's really nice, sir but-"

"Miss." Loretta pushed up her tits as she said that, then trailed a finger down Emmett's arm.

"I'm sorry. Miss, of course. Thank you, err Miss, but I'm quite alright for now, Miss."

She kept a straight face but I could see she wanted to laugh. Apparently she enjoyed making him squirm on purpose. "Aw, you don't want a little feel-good from me?"

"No, I'd rather not, err, Miss." Loretta pouted, looking at him with sad eyes. "I mean, no thanks, Miss. You look like a great gu-I mean like a wonderful woman but I'm not-I mean you're –Oh sorry, that's not what- I mean, thank you so much for the beer."

I hadn't heard Emmett fumble that much since we went guitar shopping for Bruce. It was hilarious and painful at the same time. Bruce apparently found it hilarious too, since he was laughing so hard he was almost choking, his face still buried in my shirt.

Loretta tapped Emmett's shoulder before standing up. "I was kidding, handsome. I know from a mile away if I have a chance with a guy."

Robin looked up at her. "Then why?"

She shrugged. "Probably because of the way you looked at me, and because it was fun." Then she turned around and left.

Emmett took a big gulp of his beer, then shook his head. "I still wonder how it works"

"How what works?" I asked, while Jasper, who was still laughing, resumed his fondling.

"Well, the dynamics with, err, _shim_."

I snorted. "I guess however she and her partner want it to go, Robin. You think an awful lot about other people's sex lives, Robin. First Bex, now Loretta?"

Bruce collapsed in another fit of laughter, and Bex looked at Emmett with mischief. "Yes, Emmett. I think Edward is right. Are there other people you've been wondering about?"

"No!"

"I'm sure that's not true, Emmett. I can see it on your face."

Oh oh, he was in deep shit now. Bex didn't seem like she'd let that go.

While Emmett was trying to avoid the topic and being teased endlessly by Bex, I enjoyed my boyfriend's hands. He was really doing his best, and I'll admit it was working perfectly.

Their little show was brought to a halt when Mitzy Del Bra announced that the first game was about to begin. We still didn't have any cards or daubers, so Bruce decided to get them for us. I watched him walk away and exchange hellos with whoever stopped him on his way.

"So, how do you play bingo?" Robin looked at the different people sitting around us, all with their cards and daubers ready, some of them displaying their lucky charms. One lady opened her bag and took out at least ten very ugly gnomes, which she reverently displayed in front of her. Emmett started coughing when noticed the guy on his right arrange his own display of lucky charms, consisting of a small dildo and two cockrings.

Bex caught my attention then. "Looks like my boy is getting cozy over there." I followed her gaze until I saw Jasper in conversation with tall blond guy. She glanced at me. "Aren't you jealous?"

"Nope."

"But look how he's staring at my boy. And did you see that? The guy keeps touching him, too. Still not jealous?"

I didn't know where she wanted to go with that. "No, Bex. The guy might be interested but Jasper isn't. Look at his body language. Plus, even if that wasn't the case, why would Jasper try to seduce that guy?"

"Oh, he wouldn't, but that guy is certainly trying to seduce him."

"Why would I be jealous of that? It might piss me off if the guy doesn't take no for an answer, but I'm not going to be jealous of every man who hits on Jasper, and I can't fault them for trying," I answered, my eyes still set on Bruce. I had to admit I didn't like it much that the blond guy was still talking with my boyfriend, although it was mostly because it was clear he was still trying to get into Jasper's pants. I couldn't piss all over him though, and he was perfectly able to fend for himself. I kept an eye on them anyway, just in case he needed my help.

"They're still talking, Edward." Bex, it seemed, had decided to play the "get Edward jealous" game. "God knows what that guy is telling him."

I wasn't going to react to her taunting. Right then the guy trailed his hand from Jasper's shoulder down to his ass. Okay, I had to face the fact that I didn't like that at all, but someone who was able to handle a no would never do what he just did. Bruce swatted his hand away, pushed him, then turned to us and clearly pointed me out to the guy. Then he returned to our table.

"Having fun, boy?"

"Dang it, no. He was sure I was making Edward up. I politely tried to leave but he didn't want to let me go." He put our cards and daubers on the table, then sat down next to me. "We need a signal, Alfred."

"Don't we already have a signal? I thought the bat signal was pretty obvious."

Bex and Emmett chuckled. Bruce, as always, slapped me on the chest. "No, I mean a signal so you can come save me."

I gazed at him. "I don't think you need saving, Bruce."

"Sure, but it would help me get away faster." Bruce then made a show of leaning over the table to put six cards in front of Emmett. He looked at me sideways and shook his ass – it was practically in my face- but not enough to be obvious to people around us. I, on the other hand, couldn't have ignored it even if I had tried. I only stopped staring at it when Robin threw a dauber at my face.

Mitzy and her friends started the game. When the first number rolled out, there was a flurry of activity as people checked their cards. We'd barely had the chance to check even one of ours and they were already finished and waiting for the next number to be called.

"How come they go so fast? I can't win if they go so fast. I want to win!"

"Do you even know what the prizes are, Bex?" I wasn't paying attention. Jasper was stroking me again, and I didn't care about that game enough to make an effort.

"No, but I want to win anyway!"

The numbers kept rolling out, each accompanied by a bad pun and sexual innuendo from Mitzy. She teased random people based on their reactions, making the room erupt with laughter and catcalls. Bex, while still focused on winning was laughing her ass off, and asked at least twice if we could take Mitzy on the road with us. Robin was fun to watch, too. He laughed almost as much as Bex but kept giving me incredulous looks, then turn beet red at what he was hearing. Bex and Jasper started to say 'Emmett is blushing!' each time he did, and soon the whole room was joining them, causing him to blush even more. He was a good sport about it, though, and would stand up and bow from time to time.

After a while, Bruce was the one with the most numbers covered on his cards. While he was occupied biting my neck, Bex switched all his cards with hers. I was pretty sure he saw it but didn't give a fuck either.

"You." Bex pointed at the lady with the gnomes. "Give me one of your gnomes. You've got plenty. I need luck, too."

The lady shook her head and put a protective hand on her lucky charms. Bex stared at her, even when new numbers came up. When the woman wasn't looking, she leaned over and grabbed one of the gnomes, but before she could put it in front of her, the woman stole it back.

Emmett held Bex to keep her from attacking the woman. "Whoa, calm down, Bex."

The Gnome Lady recoiled under Bex's glare and moved as far away from us as she could.

"You're crazy."

Bex stopped glaring at the woman and stared at Emmett. "I am not."

"True, she isn't. She just loves to scare off the stiff people."

"My boy knows me so well." She smiled brightly at Jasper before shouting, "The people here have sticks up their asses!"

Mitzy Del Bra, who was using the mic to call a new number, laughed then cooed, "That's because so many of us here love it, honey!"

Bex stood up. "You know I'm not talking about that kind of stick, beautiful. But good for you!"

The Diva made a little curtsey and went on with calling numbers.

"Okay, I need a lucky charm. All the people who are winning have lucky charms."

Jasper looked at her, surprised. "You don't believe in that, Bex."

"I don't boy, but I still want a lucky charm."

He stopped fondling me for a minute while he searched his pockets and retrieved a small pack of lube. "Here, when I use lube it usually means I'm going to get lucky."

Emmett shook his head. "At least you didn't ask that guy for a cock ring."

"Oh, a cockring! Where?"

He should have stayed quiet. She tried to take one of them, but the guy was adamant about keeping all of his lucky charms, to Emmett's relief. Watching Bex play and glare at anyone who wasdaubing more numbers than her was the best show ever.

She kept stealing our cards when hers didn't seem lucky enough. Jasper and I didn't care in the least, caught up as we were in our little lust games, but Emmett always fought her over it. I honestly didn't think he cared more than we did, but I'm pretty sure he loved hearing her bitch about it.

When the first game ended, Jasper and I went to get four more beers. He kept whispering dirty things in my ear. Just before he picked up two of the beers and walked away, he put his hand in my pocket. I watched him as he brought the beer to our table, then I checked what he had left me. I could only chuckle when I felt a condom under my fingers.

The second game started, and once again Bruce teased me by bending over the table to point out an imaginary number on one of Bex's cards, giving me a great view of his ass. He wanted me to wait until I didn't _want_ to hold off anymore, _couldn't_ hold off anymore. He almost had me to that point, and I loved it. Bruce caught me staring at him, and not so discreetly put a hand on his crotch and moaned when he sat back.

That was the last straw. He probably thought it would take me longer to get there because the look on his face when I stood up and dragged him by his arm across the room was priceless. I could read his shock and surprise, then understanding and finally, anticipation. I vaguely heard Emmett say, "What the hell?" and Bex shouting, "You're forgetting your lube!" followed by catcalls as we reached the door. We were out of the room by the time Mitzy Del Bra used the mic to announce, "Two players down for getting dirty. Have fun, boys!"

I could still hear the laughter as I pushed Bruce into what happened to be a storage room. He tried to turn around to face me, but I kept his back to me while I walked him to a pile of boxes and bent him over it. I opened my pants and put on the condom at the same time as I asked him to push down his own.

He complied eagerly and gripped the sides of the boxes for support when I thrust into him. We both moaned in relief, and I pushed his shirt up so I could have a perfect view of his ass. I trailed my hands from his lower back down to his cheeks, then under them, digging my fingers into his skin as I rammed into him twice. He whimpered when I stopped and pushed his ass onto my cock to show me he was waiting for more.

I leaned over him and put one of my hands flat on the box for leverage. Bad decision. It went through the cardboard up to my elbow. It elicited a 'fuck' out of both of us, me in surprise and him because the motion made me thrust deeper. As I tried to get my arm free, he half-moaned, half-whispered, "I love it when I feel your weight, when you crush me like that." When I finally managed to get my hand back out, which scattered confetti everywhere since the box was full of it, he chuckled and added, "Why don't you fuck me like I asked now, Richard Simmons?"

I laughed out loud at his jibe and shook my hand over him, getting more confetti stuck in his hair. I enjoyed that feeling, when you're so at ease with someone that life's little missteps and mishaps are just part of the fun and good times with them, rather than embarrassing. Not that I'm one to feel self-conscious, but it's moments like these that I grasp how much I've missed being close to someone. And not just anyone either, Bruce had a way about him. He shook his ass right then, and I bit his shoulder lightly which made him grip my cock tighter.

Something had to give. I couldn't stay flush against him and fuck him hard at the same time, plus our combined weight was dangerously bending the pile of boxes. We'd end up on the floor soon if we stayed like that. I leaned back until my cock came out completely, and I couldn't resist slapping his ass once, hard. He moaned loudly and I kneaded his ass cheeks, spreading him open.

"I love your ass. You wanted to be fucked like a whore, Bruce?"

"Yesss!"

"I don't think I heard you very well."

"Shit, yes! Like a whore! Fuck me, Edward!"

Here was my swearing Jasper. "Come on, you can do better than that, Bruce." He let out a wanton moan that made me exhale shakily as I tried to calm myself. Knowing he'd get off on it, I took a hold of his short hair as best I could and pulled his head back with one hand, while the other held my cock against his asshole, pushing slightly every so often but not enough to enter him. Then I encouraged him again, hoping he'd let go of some of his reserve. We both knew that's what he wanted and I was more than ready to help him achieve it. "If you want to be fucked like a whore, you're going to have to do better than that."

"Fuck!" His knuckles turned white as he gripped the box harder. He was so turned on that his body was vibrating slightly, and I could feel his asshole open and close against my cock. "Fuck me. I want to feel your cock fuck my ass again and again, and slam into me so hard I'll feel it in my whole body. Turn me into _your_ cock whore right fucking now."

And people thought he couldn't swear. Hot damn, Bruce really did have hidden super powers. It was my turn to swear like a trucker at the sight of my cock swiftly entering his ass. The speed made the boxes rock along with Jasper's movements. Each of my thrusts made him cry out a "fuck yes!" between moans,I wasn't holding back, just as he'd asked. I could feel his hair become hot and sweaty under my hand. When it became impossible for me to grip it anymore, I held him by one shoulder, which was a good thing because it helped steady him. The boxes were starting to rock dangerously with every thrust.

My breath was heavy, and sweat started slowly dripping down my back and forehead. His moans and pants became louder. When he let out a string of "fucks", I snaked a hand around his waist to grasp his cock. I barely had the time to stroke him twice before he shouted unintelligible words as he came. I watched him ride out his orgasm, the sound of his whimpers and the feel of his body making me groan and swear. I finally tilted my head back, slowing my rhythm as I savored the almost trance-like state I was in.

Bruce decided to play dirty then, or should I say dirtier, by swearing and telling me to "keep fucking your little whore". He added, "I'm the only one you fuck like that, I'm the only one. Say it."

I answered each time with a 'yes' because that I was sure of. That I knew to be true. He was the only one I wanted to fuck and I sure as hell wanted to be the only one to fuck him.

When I was about to come, I moved flush against him, kissing his neck and his lips as best I could in this position. I groaned one last time at my orgasm, right when the boxes gave out under our weight. We ended up on the floor, covered in confetti, and lucky that neither of us got hurt in the process.

I rolled on my back, laughing, and he moved to pepper kisses all over my face. When our laughter died down, I cradled his head and kissed him slowly. He broke the kiss by bursting into laughter and motioned with his hand. "Look at us with our pants half down, rolling in cum and confetti!"

I chuckled. "It's a good thing we're at Gay Bingo because we're the poster boys for Gay Pride right now."

He nodded, still laughing. "That said, confetti should always be thrown when we fuck, Alfred."

We tried to put the boxes back as best we could, but failed at trying to clean ourselves up. It was a lost cause. There was confetti everywhere, and our hair refused to be tamed. We decided to quit trying since we wouldn't be fooling anyone, anyway.

Getting back to our table was a raucous affair. There were a lot of catcalls, many high-fives and a slow but deliberate description of our physical state by Mitzy on the mic. Jasper started to blush but then must have decided to embrace the situation because he started smiling like a proud mother. I just shrugged; no way was I going to be ashamed of having fucked with my boyfriend.

When we got back to the table and the game was finally back on track, Bex was the first one to speak. "You sex fiends!" She looked at Jasper. "We could hear you from here, boy."

His eyes went wide as saucers, and he turned to Emmett for confirmation.

"She's lying. Plus no one would have heard you anyway over the Diva's little show." He made an appreciative face before adding, "They're really funny! Hey, is that confetti in your hair?"

I eyed Emmett curiously. I didn't doubt he found them funny, they were, but his speech made me wonder how much he'd had to drink. "Someone enjoyed the beer, Robin."

He blinked at me. "Oh, yeah. They," he pointed to the three divas on stage, "kept making me drink. The one in the blue dress is Holly Wood. Man, can she arm wrestle. She beat me twice!" He leaned a bit and whispered, "And you know, I don't find it that strange that Loretta has tits and a dick. Okay, I still wonder how that works, but you know, whatever rocks their world, right?"

"Again with the 'dynamics', Emmett?" Bex shook her head at him.

"Well, yes. Don't you ever wonder?"

"No, I don't feel the need to."

"Ah. I do. It's like with those two." He glanced at us. "Don't you think it's normal to wonder how it works?"

Jasper gazed at him, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"You know. How does it work? Who is the err, woman?"

He was lucky he was drunk. Bruce, on the other hand, didn't make any allowance for his state of intoxication. "You know what? Fuck you!" That startled Emmett; he wasn't used to Jasper being pissed at him, and even less at him swearing. He opened his mouth to speak, but Jasper cut him off as he stood up and said, "And I take back your Robin status." With that, Bruce left the table.

I stared at Emmett. I was used to people's ignorance, and I didn't fault him for voicing this. I was pretty sure the alcohol was the reason he'd said it in the first place, but all the same, it meant he thought that way.

I sighed before answering. "Emmett, asking who the woman is in a gay couple is like asking which chopstick is the fork in a Chinese restaurant. It doesn't make any sense because you can't compare them."

He looked in the direction Jasper had gone. "So he's really pissed?"

"I'd say that, yeah."

"I swear I didn't mean to be rude, Edward."

"It's not me you need to say that to. I personally get that you didn't mean any harm, but Jasper? He's more sensitive, and you can't believe the kind of crap we hear daily. But he'll calm down. You should definitely talk to him, though."

Emmett got up and went to find Jasper. Bex and I watched them talk from where we were. Jasper still seemed pissed, but at least he was listening.

I understood why he was pissed; I was pissed, too. But I knew not to blame it on Emmett. Society in general made people think that way, and it wasn't because of the obviously anti-gays, but everyone, even the so called open-minded ones. When adults talk to kids, even adults who are for equal rights, they ask boys, "Do you have a little girlfriend?" but they never ask if they have a boyfriend, hence making same-sex relationships a big no-no without even meaning to do so. It's ingrained in our brains that there must be a man and woman, and if there's not, then it must still somehow fit the mold. Society pushed you to automatically assume relationships fit a pre-determined, heterosexual pattern, but that was like wanting to fit a square peg in a round hole.

Bex wasn't paying attention to the game anymore. She was anxiously watching Emmett and Jasper talk, obviously hoping for them to find a way to get over this. It took them a long while to do so, more time than even I thought it would. Jasper wasn't the nice, forgiving guy people seemed to think he was. His roommate, Ben, felt like he could walk all over him, and others thought they could do what they wanted, but the reality was that Jasper chose his battles. He didn't waste time and energy where he knew it to be useless, but if he wanted something, he'd find a way to get it. And if you pissed him off, he wouldn't hide it. Emmett was learning that lesson.

They eventually hugged, which made Bex relax. When Jasper came back to our table, she sent him a smile. "Where's Emmett?"

"He's at the bar. He'll be here soon."

Bruce took his place next to me, and I wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "You're okay?"

"Yeah, I made him grovel a long time, but he finally convinced me he was really sorry. He did call himself a moron through the whole conversation. That helped, too."

"You two are good, then?"

"Yup."

"So he won back his Robin status?"

He turned his head to look at me with a glint in his eyes. "Oh no. But he knows what to do to get it back."

I frowned, perplexed. "What does he have to do?"

Emmett was on his way back to the table with drinks, non-alcoholic ones it seemed, so Jasper whispered, "I'll tell you later, but trust me, it's going to be good."

"I'm just giving you your glasses, and I'm going back to the bar."

Bex took a sip of her drink. "Did they hire you?"

"No, ma'am, but I met someone, and I'm not letting her go." With that he walked back to the bar. We were all curious to see who he wanted to go back to.

"Well, he has good taste. She's beautiful."

Jasper's eyes searched in the direction Bex was looking. "Is she the hot blonde with the never-ending legs?"

"Yes. Look, he's clearly talking to her."

"Nice, Emmett. Very nice."

I felt the need to participate in the conversation, too. "So, who's going to tell him she has a cock?

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><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think! <strong>_


	18. Say it, Batman

_**A huge thanks to WendyK and KGQ for their awesomeness, patience and encouragement. Also, thanks to Debra**** (May the Bennett force be with you), and Lisa, who's currently burried under work.**_

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><p><strong>Thank YOU for your support, encouragement and kind words. You rock! (Some of you have yet to receive a reply from me, but then it's because I was writing this chapter.)<strong>_**  
><strong>_

**Things I forgot to say last chapter: **Raging Bull is a Martin Scorsese movie from 1980. Mitzy Del Bra is Hugo Weaving's character in "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" (if you haven't seen it, you really should.) Holly Wood is a real Diva, you can meet her at the next Gay Bingo Night in Philadelphia (June 3rd I think).

**Things for this chap:** The person Emmett is talking to is a very beautiful androgynous person. I'd reckon for you to google Andrej Pejic and tell me if you'd have thought she/he wasn't 100% woman. (when he's full on woman of course.) I had a great pic, but ffn is nightmare when it comes to links...

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><p>Disclaimer: Bex's balls haven't dried either.<p>

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><p><em><strong>Jasper<strong>_

"Edward says what?" He lifted a single eyebrow at my outburst. Dang, I don't even know why I used that tone. "I meant," I cleared my throat, "what?"

"She has a dick."

"How do you know that?"

Because I talked to her when we went to get the beer earlier."

"Hey, I was there! How come I didn't see you talk to her?"

"Maybe because you were too busy putting condoms in my pocket, and rolling your ass as you walked away?"

Uh, yeah, probably. But darn, it had worked beautifully; I wouldn't mind seeing the inside of that storage room again.

"You're aware that you're fondling yourself there, Bruce?"

Dang. "Uhm no. I think I was too caught up in the err-"

"Porn in your head?"

"You know me well, Alfred." Edward stared at me for a few seconds, so I felt the need to ask, "What?"

"Nothing, Bruce. But you're right. I do know you." He smiled and shook his head before speaking again, "So anyway, someone should warn Emmett."

Bex was still gaping at Emmett and the person he was talking to. "But she looks so feminine. I really can't tell from her face or figure."

I shrugged, even if she couldn't see me. "Well, there are a lot of androgynous people, Bex. But Alfred is right, one of us should go tell him."

At my words, Bex swiftly turned towards us. "I can do it!"

"No way, Bex."

I was surprised that Edward didn't want her to do it. "Why?"

"Because neither of them need to be embarrassed, Bruce. There's a chance she thinks he's aware of it, you know? After all, if I know about her, she may think my friends do, too. And if it's not Emmett's thing, that's fine, but she deserves to be let down politely."

He was right. Darn, Edward was a gentleman. Unless we were being dirty, of course. Okay, no thinking about sex right now, Jasper. Ah, dang, it was a lost cause anyway; I should just embrace my pervy side instead of trying to fight it.

"Well, then you better go now, Edward." Bex looked at him expectantly.

"I guess so."

We watched him as he walked away. Bex slapped my arm across the table. "Stop drooling, boy." Then once I was looking at her, she added, "I'm thirsty. Aren't you thirsty?"

Since I was as curious as she was, I followed her to the bar. Edward wasn't fooled and shook his head at us. He didn't say anything to us, though, since he was already busy trying to pull Emmett off to the side for a conversation.

Bex and I tried to hear what he was saying, but he was whispering and all we could get was their body language. Bex snorted when Emmett's eyes nearly bugged out of his head, and he started to cough.

He was looking everywhere but at the girl, and when he tried to walk away Edward caught his arm, said something quickly and pushed him toward her. Well, that wasn't very discreet.

Edward joined us at the bar. "What are you doing?"

"Eavesdropping." Bex had no shame.

I shrugged, uneasy. "We just, ah, wanted to-"

"You two were being nosy."

"Um, yeah." There was no denying it.

"What did he say?"

Edward turned to Bex. "What?"

She looked at him like he was dense. "What did Emmett say when you told him about the cock?"

"Nothing much." He asked for a drink, then resumed speaking. "What do you want him to say anyway? He thought he was making a move on someone with a vagina."

I listened to Edward while I watched Emmett. He was still talking with the blonde girl, but it didn't seem to be an easy conversation. Without hearing a word, I knew he was rambling, like only he knew how. The girl was looking at him as if he was crazy. That part was funny to watch at least. She didn't appear to understand a word he was saying, and was probably wondering why he had turned into a blubbering idiot.

At one point she finally must have decided she'd had enough because she tapped his shoulder gently, rolled her eyes, and went to talk to someone else, not giving him a second glance.

Emmett rubbed a hand on his face, then looked over our table. When he didn't see us, he looked around, spotting us at the bar. "Holy fucking shit. She was so hot." He shook his head and took Bex's glass out of her hands and gulped it down. "Why did she have to have a cock? That's just messed up!"

Edward cleared his throat, stopping Emmett's little rant. "You were nice to her, I hope."

"Oh man, I tried but I have no idea what I said. She was looking at me as if I was mad!"

"I saw that. " Edward chuckled. "At least she's the one who got to 'dump' your sorry ass."

"I feel weird about having tried to seduce a guy."

That sobered Edward up. "Why? She's a girl tonight, and she wasn't trying to trick you. To you, she's just another person with whom it couldn't work out. Nothing to feel weird about."

"Well, I'm not used to hitting on someone with a dick, that's all."

Emmett's tone was defensive, so Bex, as usual, jumped in. "Maybe you would have liked it?" Both Emmett and Edward glared at her. "Okay, that was a joke. My bad."

Whoa, they needed to chill the duck out. "Hey, everything is fine. No need to get mad over it." I held Edward's arm and stroked it.

"I'm not getting mad, Bruce. But you know how much shit people like her get on a daily basis." Yeah, I knew. Even more than us, and we already got our fair share of stupids. I nodded and he went on, "Emmett's got to learn that there's nothing 'messed up' about her or the situation."

"Hey! I know that! Well, I'm getting to know that, at least. I only used 'messed up' because I liked her. But just like you won't sleep with someone with a vagina no matter how great they are, I can't do it with someone with a cock." He gave Alfred a pointed stare. "My cock will be the only cock involved."

"And maybe a dildo, if the mood strikes you." Bex gave him her brightest smile. "What? You could end up with a woman who likes toys!"

"I-You're sick, woman." He picked up another drink. "Now I'm going to sit at our table, and I don't want to hear about it again." And with those words he walked away. I tried not laugh, wondering if he would ever get over his trip to the sex shop with Bex.

She followed him. "Come on, Emmett. You know it was funny!" I watched her sit down next to him, trying to make him laugh.

Edward turned around to get his own drink, and I took advantage of being alone with him to ask, "Why are you so serious about this? I get that you don't want to hurt anyone, or to make fun of them. I don't want that either, but you seem a bit, ah, yeah, too serious still."

He took a sip of his drink as he stared me in the eyes. "I've seen the damage it can do. It seems like a laughing matter to so many people, when in truth it's not. I know there's harmless humor, too, but I can't find it in me to laugh about it because more times than not it's not humor but prejudice. Never underestimate the power of stupidity, Jasper." He shrugged. "I don't know what else to tell you."

Okay. I looked at him quizzically, then decided to drop it. "Then we better go back to the table because Bex doesn't seem to see things the same way."

"She doesn't have to. And we both know she isn't making fun of him or her."

"Yeah, that's right."

He put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him as we walked back the table. Bex seemed to be about to say something, but Mitzy Del Bra sat down next to her. "So, darlings, was it good for you?" she said, while looking at Edward and I. I couldn't keep from blushing a little as I sat down. "I'm talking about the games, of course." Then she winked at me. "Because based on the state of the storage room, you two had a great time."

I started protesting but she shushed me with a wave of her hand. "You still have confetti in your hair, honey. Don't try to fool Mitzy Del Bra, I've seen the inside of _many _storage rooms." Bex lifted one of her hands for a high-five, and Mitzy didn't hesitate.

Then she looked at Emmett, who stared back at her with a '_Me? Why always me?_' face. "Loretta told me you've been a bad boy?"

"What? I, no!"

"Relax, honey, I'm kidding. It's clear you don't know anything about this lifestyle," she motioned at us with her hand, "but based on who you're hanging out with, you're not afraid to learn. That one," she pointed to Bex, " is a spitfire."

Emmett shook his head and mumbled, "You can't even know."

"Well, let me give you a pointer, honey." She waited for him to look at her before adding, "It's considered rude if you don't address people with the proper title, whatever you _think_ they are. If they're dressed like a woman, they're 'Miss', if they dress as a man they're 'Mister' to you. Right?"

He nodded. "Yes, Miss."

"Good." She smiled at him. "I feel like you have a question. Am I right?"

"Uhm, I was wondering if you only dressed like this for gay bingos or…"

"What? You don't think I look great?"

Bex touched Mitzy's hair. "I think you're wonderful."

Mitzy took Bex's hand then. "Aw, thank you. I knew I liked you!" Then she became serious again as she answered Emmett's question. "No, I don't. It's just for fun. I like it though, but I spend most of my days in a suit." She eyed Emmett. "You seem surprised. A guy who wears a suit for work can't be a woman once in a while?"

"No I- Well, I don't know. Yes, I suppose they can."

"What do you do for a job?"

She looked at Edward who had asked the question. "I'm a corporate lawyer. Tough job, but I love it."

I couldn't refrain from asking. "And your extra-curricular activities aren't a problem?"

She frowned at me. "Why would they be? One of the guys I work with plays miniature golf every Saturday. That's so much weirder! I'm joking. Well, he does play miniature golf every Saturday, though. Anyway, no it's not. Some people from my firm come to bingo night, others don't, but they still know what I do here."

"And you don't get, ah, any hassle for it?"

"Do I meet my fair share of morons? Of course. Does it interfere with my job? No."

Interesting. Not that I gave any credit to what my father had said, but as Edward stated previously, "Never underestimate the power of stupidity". People were still prejudiced when it came to homosexuality. But this guy was a good example when it came to proving my parents wrong. Mitzy interrupted my thoughts

"Is there a reason why you're asking about this?"

"Uh, no."

"Bruce." Edward put a hand on my back as he spoke, encouraging me to speak my mind instead of acting like everything was fine. No doubt he knew where my thoughts had taken me. Darn him.

I huffed and looked at him. He smiled, motioning towards Mitzy with his head. I guess he was right. I'd better tell her. Plus, Bex seemed ready to butt in if I didn't; since she wasn't one to do that when it came to this kind of things, I suppose that meant talking would be a good thing.

"Uhm, I had an argument with my parents not long ago."

"That's putting it lightly, boy." I looked at Bex and she mimicked sewing her mouth shut, showing me that she wouldn't interrupt again.

"And?" Mitzy gave me an encouraging smile.

"Well, one of the things they said was that no one would want a gay lawyer to defend them."

"And you believed that?" She was asking it in a genuine way. I liked that she didn't make me feel dumb.

"Not really, but you have to admit that based on how the world works, it could be true."

"I can't deny that, but here's the thing: when people need to be defended, they want the best. And I can tell you that they really won't care if their lawyer gets a kick out of reenacting 'Winnie the Pooh: the Porn Musical' in their spare time. People will tolerate many things when their assets are on the line. Don't worry." She laughed and went on, "Of course, some of them can still act like dicks, but it's easy to remind them that they're welcome to find someone else." She seemed lost in thoughts for a few seconds. "But one thing is true, most of the time you have to work your ass off, harder than others. That's what's fucked up. But when you've proven you're great at what you do, the rest doesn't matter."

I nodded, but she didn't seem convinced that I got it. Dang her for being so intuitive. I turned my head to avoid her stare, but ended up looking into Edward's eyes instead. Darn them all for reading me so well. "I'm not sure I'm that thick-skinned, and it seems like you need to be."

"Bullshit."

Angry Edward. I shouldn't have a semi hard-on right now, not really the conversation for that. "What? Did you listen to what she said? It's clear you've got to be able to handle all that crap coming your way."

"I'm not saying that part isn't true. I call bullshit on you for thinking you're not thick-skinned."

"Let's be honest, Edward. I'm not the poster boy for that."

"Bullshit!"

This time both Bex and Edward had spoken. Mitzy was chuckling, waiting to see what they'd say next.

"Hey, I know myself pretty well, you know, since I happen to _be_ me. A little credit here?"

"And apparently we don't think that's true, boy."

"Yeah, but that's because you like me."

"You know, I can like people and still be objective about them. Can't you, Edward?"

He nodded, and Bex kept speaking. "Okay, let's say it's because we love you. Mitzy here doesn't know you. Tell her everything that happened with your parents, and we'll see what she says." After sensing my hesitation, Bex added, "I'm sure she's heard it many times, and probably worse, too."

"Chances are I have, honey. Sadly. But share your story with me only if _you_ want to. Don't do it because your friends think you should."

I looked around the table, then shrugged. "I don't mind. It can't hurt, right?" Well, not too much at least.

I told her about everything that had happened so far with my parents, down to the last phone call with my mother. She listened intently, nodding her head from time to time. When I finished, she patted my hand. "Honey, I don't know how you define 'thick-skinned' in your head, but your friends are right. You are definitely thick-skinned."

"I don't feel like it. "

"Oh, we never do, honey." She squinted her eyes at me. "They did quite a number on you, didn't they?"

I shrugged but she didn't accept that as an answer, and gave me a pointed stare.

"I guess they did."

"You guess?"

"Yeah, they did, but I'm not letting it get me down."

"There's nothing wrong with being hurt and depressed when it comes to this, the point is to not stay that way. I mean, I myself never had to deal with that. My parents never judged me for who I was. Sure, they don't get the whole Divas fun, but they would never talk down to me for it."

I stayed silent. There was nothing I could say anyway. Mitzy wasn't done, and after seeing that I wasn't going to say anything more, she carried on.

"Not to go all 'there are worse things in life like children starving in Africa' on you, but the truth is, the outcome of what happened with your parents could have been worse. I've seen and heard worse, as you can guess." She shook her head. "I've helped young people after they've been beaten up by their family and thrown out of the house without a dime. And I, sadly, had to live through the suicide of some of them."

She pointed a finger at me. "You aren't helpless. You have a good support system, and while that doesn't take the harshness out of your situation, it does make it easier to deal with it."

I had Emmett's words in my mind, and I think Alfred did too, because he started to chuckle. I snorted. "Yeah, family is like sex, right?"

Mitzy stopped moving, watching me as if I was going to bite. "That's the weirdest thing I've ever heard, honey and god knows I'm used to weird."

Edward and I burst into laughter at the sight of Emmett's face. He groaned, mumbled something unintelligible, and slid down in his seat.

Bex was looking between us and Emmett, knowing well she was missing the joke. "Is someone going to tell me what that's all about?"

Emmett jerked up. "Nothing! Nothing at all. Right, Jasper?" which made Bex stare pointedly at me. So I lifted my hands in surrender, and said, "I know nothing."

"Oh yes you do, boy. Tell me."

"I'm not-" Then I decided to use another tactic, one she'd taught me, and asked, "What have you been doing with Emmett all day?"

She swiftly turned to Emmett. "What did you tell him?"

He opened and closed his mouth a few times before speaking. "Nothing! I said nothing!"

She squinted at him and he turned to us to mouth, "Tomato plants!"

"Fine, boy. Don't tell me what it's all about." She crossed her arms, and leaned back in her chair. I internally high-fived myself for distracting her from her questioning. Mitzy, who had been watching us and laughing all this time, piped up.

"See what I mean? Your parents are still uneducated morons, honey. But they aren't keeping you from enjoying life. Based on what I see, their opinion doesn't make you question who you are and how you want to live. Most of all, it didn't keep you from moving forward. That's good. Trying to find ways to make them see they're wrong is a waste of time; thinking about how much they're wrong is a waste of time, too."

"Yeah, I know you're right. Thank you for the talk, Mitzy."

"You're welcome, honey. Let me say goodbye to a few people, and I'll be back." She winked at Bex. "Then you can tell me how awesome I am."

She had said nothing that Emmett and Edward hadn't told me before. Or nothing I didn't already know, for that matter, but I had to admit it had helped, nonetheless. Maybe it was only because the more I got to voice what had happened, the less it got a hold on me. Probably because each time I really thought about it, I realized on a fundamental level how stupid they had acted, and how that stupidity cancelled out everything they had said.

Obviously I already knew that, but knowing it and feeling it deep in your core were two completely different things.

"Are you alright, Bruce?" Edward whispered in my ear, making my skin tingle.

"Yes, Alfred. I feel quite good."

"Yeah?"

"Yes, I could show you how good I am, but I think it's way too public for me to do it here."

"Oh, that good, huh?"

I smiled and bit the skin under his ear. "You know I am." He shuddered and I leaned back a bit, enough to look at him. "Dang, I think Alfred likes to be bitten as much as I do. Who knew?" I put my mouth against his ear again and added, "I think I'll spend some time checking out that theory later. What do you say?"

He nodded, and sort of grunted a yes. I think I was getting much better at this, based on his reaction. And if I wasn't wrong, I wasn't the only one having porn going on in my head. Welcome to Gothporn City, Alfred. Yeah, I didn't think I should ever say that out loud, either. We were pulled out of our little world by Bex's voice.

"No, no! Let them be. They're so fun to watch!"

Edward looked at her, curious to know what she was talking about. I realized Mitzy was back at our table, and all three of them were watching us.

Emmett spoke first. "Mitzy was telling me about-"

But he was cut off by Bex. "Look at that! You made them stop coming on to each other! I had a great porn theme going on in my head to go with it." She shook her head disapprovingly. "My boy was doing great!"

I stared at her, incredulous. "Dang it, Bex! Do you know anything about privacy?" I glanced to Edward who didn't seem fazed by her words.

"Boy, if you're intent on turning your boyfriend on in public, don't cry if there are witnesses."

"She has a point, honey."

Mitzy looked at Bex, and to my horror, they both started singing the universal porn music theme, "Bow chicka wow wow" as they sat there and moved in time to the music.

Note to self, never do that in front of Bex again. I decided to ignore them. "So, anyway, you were saying, Emmett?"

He was watching them open-mouthed, and it took him a few seconds to answer me. "Uh, Mitzy was saying that - oh shit, I need brain bleach - she knew someone who could use our help. Paid job."

"Uhm, okay?" Why I was answering him with a question, I didn't know. It seemed to throw Emmett off because he hurriedly added,

"I have almost no money left. I mean, I had close to nothing already, but motels and gas have kind of used up what I had, and soon all I earned working for Walter will be gone 's no way I'm going to mooch off you. I want to be able to contribute. You get that, right?"

"Sure." Darn, I paid for gas, but I hadn't paid for one motel room since we had left Seattle. Was I mooching off Edward? Could it be called mooching if I was paying for gas? But then he was paying for gas, too. Maybe I should ask him if we need to make a schedule about which one of us paid for the motel. I could pay every other day, that sounded alright. I had enough money in the bank to go on like this for a while still, but earning money on the way couldn't hurt, either.

"Are you okay, Bruce?"

"Yup."

"You're sure? Because you were lost in thought, and if I'm right, it had nothing to do with porn this time."

"Yeah, I was wondering about something, but we can talk about it later." He held my gaze for a few seconds, then nodded. "So, Emmett, what's the job about?"

"Painting a house. The faster it's done, the better it is. You game?"

"Yeah, why not." Edward leaned back in his chair and watched Bex and Mitzy as they kept mimicking the porn theme, making up the choreography as they went.

Emmett was clearly trying not to look at their way, but I couldn't ignore them. Even less when they stood up, and started dancing to their own 'song'.

"Oh, fuck, someone need to stop them." Apparently Emmett couldn't look away, either. Then he added, "No way!" when Holly Wood joined them, trying to catch on to their very horrid dance moves. "You two should stop laughing at them! You're just encouraging them!"

I couldn't answer him; I was laughing way too much at their weird cabaret dance. The sight of Bex dancing between the two Divas would be stuck in my head for a ducking long time. Edward was leaning on me, his face against my back, laughing so much that I could feel his uneven breathing as his body shook. He would be silent, half-choking on his breath, but from time to time a strangled laugh would escape, sending me into another fit of laughter.

They finally stopped their show, and after some more talking we finally had to leave. They had to close everything up, as the room was only rented until a set time. We said our goodbyes, and Mitzy gave her phone number to Bex, so we could call about the job. I think she mostly just wanted to give Bex her number, but that's only me.

We were still laughing as we stepped in the street, but it was short-lived. A few guys were hanging around outside, ready to insult whoever left Gay Bingo.

"Fags! You should be ashamed of yourselves!" Then he spit on Emmett's shoes.

_Oh great._

"You have a problem with us, dude?"

"Well, Emmett, I'd say those men are morons. You can't expect intelligence from guys like that." Bex started walking in their direction, and I joined her.

"I'd say you're right, Bex." I look at one of them and added, "I rather be a fag than a frustrated idiot with only two brain cells."

The guy who had spoken to us was joined by his four friends, and I felt Edward trying to pull me back. "Come on, Jasper."

"Yeah, come on _Jasper_, listen to your little boyfriend and run away." He looked me up and down. "You disgust me. Don't you know it's a sin? People like you should be locked up."

"You stupid fuckers! I swear I'm going to kick your ass." Bex was fuming.

"You don't scare me, dyke. But if you call me that one more time I sure won't have any problem-"

He didn't get to finish what he was saying because Edward interrupted him. "Help me, Emmett." They pulled both Bex and I back, and kept us walking backward until we couldn't see those idiots any longer.

"What the duck, Edward?"

"Egging people on never solves anything."

"But you heard them!"

"I did, and they were five of them just waiting for you to push them too far! Sometimes you've got to let it go, Jasper. You just have to let it go!"

"We could have kicked their asses, Edward."

He turned to Bex and glared at her. "At what price? Tell me Bex, at what fucking price?" He pointed a finger at Emmett. "Do you want Emmett to have problems since he already has a criminal record?" Then he motioned to all of us. "Or have one of us end up in the hospital, or worse?"

"Sometimes it's worth it to defend your opinions."

I had rarely seen Bex so serious, and I'd certainly never seen Edward that pissed off, either. I didn't know what to think. In a way, Edward was right, but you couldn't just let people insult you, could you?

"And sometimes it's better to know when to walk away." On that note he started walking towards the motel.

We all caught up with him. Emmett and I had yet to say anything, but apparently neither of us was up for speaking. I knew we probably just needed some time to let the tension of the situation dissipate. They'd both said what they wanted to say, and there was nothing else to add. I wish those five idiots hadn't been in our way, though. I'm not good at dealing with insults. I'd like to be someone who can ignore them, but I'm not. It always hurt, and it always was like a punch to the gut.

Little by little we starting chatting about the evening, and when we got to the motel we were all back to our normal happy selves. Sort of.

After wishing Bex good night, I stopped Emmett before we parted ways. Edward waved at him and headed for our room, leaving us alone.

"You know that you and I are fine, right? I told you we were earlier."

"Yeah, I know." He put his hands in his pockets. "I'm still doing it."

"You're sure?" I snorted and added, "You really do want to be Robin again."

He looked around, and nodded slightly. I felt the need to repeat myself. "You still don't need to do it, you know."

"I think I got it, Jasper. Do you think I'm slow? I'm telling you that I'm going to do it." He slapped my shoulder once and walked away.

When I entered the room, Edward was getting into bed. I couldn't keep from noticing that his clean clothes were still in his bag, on the floor of course. I shook my head and let myself fall on the bed next to him.

"Everything fine, Bruce?"

I nodded as I scooted closer to him, then kissed him. "That was quite the night."

"You don't say." He lifted the covers and asked, "Are you coming?"

"Not yet, Alfred, but I'm counting on you to make it happen soon." I stood up to get out of my clothes and fold them properly.

"That was so lame, Bruce."

I walked back to the bed and slid under the covers. "Uh huh, but you enjoy my lameness, Alfred."

And duck, did he enjoy it that night.

*.*.*

"Did you fuck my wife?"

"What?"

"Did you fuck my wife?

"How can you ask me that? Where do you get your balls big enough to ask me that?"

I couldn't stay in character anymore. Bex and I had quoted _Raging Bull_ since we had sat down at the breakfast table. Edward would add a quote from time to time, but I think he mostly got a kick out of watching us. He confirmed what I thought by saying,

"Watching you two is almost better than watching the movie."

"Sad Emmett isn't here, he could have gotten a little education." Bex frowned, then added, "Where is he by the way?"

"No idea." I took a mouthful of food, so she wouldn't see the tell-tale evidence of my lie.

Edward snorted and I jabbed him with my elbow to keep him from laughing.

"You two are hid - oh, fuck me sideways with a glitter strap-on!"

Both Edward and I turned in the direction she was looking. Edward's eyes became wide as saucers and he hit the table with his fist before laughing so loudly it scared the woman behind us. Even I, knowing what was coming, couldn't hold back my laughter. Bex wasn't any better than us, and none of us could talk as Emmett walked to the table and sat down, checking the menu as if everything was normal.

"Go on, go on. Please, don't let me stop you."

That caused another fit of laughter, as did the fact that he ignored the surprised look of the waitress when she came to take his order.

Bex sobered up first. She picked up her cup before saying, "So, Robin. I see you're out of the Batcave. Nice tights, by the way." She started laughing again, incapable of drinking her coffee like she wanted to.

Emmett held his head high, proudly answering, "Thank you, Bex."

"The cape is - oh, fuck, Emmett, the cape suits you so well." I held onto Edward as he spoke. I had problems keeping myself in a sitting position.

"No, no, Alfred. The Speedo! The Speedo takes the win!"

Robin squinted his eyes. "This _isn't_ a Speedo, _Bruce._" Then he proceeded to eat his breakfast, not paying any attention to our laughter.

I was laughing so hard I was crying as I watched him sit there and eat in his Robin costume. I didn't think he would really do it! "Darn, Emmett... You don't do things halfway, do you?" He didn't look at me as he sipped his coffee, so I waved a hand in front of his face. "Emmett!" When he still didn't react, I tried to keep a straight face, asking, "Robin?"

He looked at me at once. "Yes?"

_Whoa._ _Dang if he isn't dead serious about this._ Bex couldn't keep from touching his cape and shoulder pads. When she tried to do the same with his mask, he swatted her hand away. "Stop it. My identity is supposed to be a secret. How can it be secret if you remove my mask?"

Bex mock-gasped. "Oh, yes, what was I thinking? The good people of Bismarck can't ever know who you are!" She shook her head. "May I ask what brought _this_ on?"

Without a missing a beat, he answered, "I. Am. Robin!"

She guffawed, then looked at me and Edward. "He's Robin."

We nodded, still laughing, our breakfast forgotten. Once we were out of the diner, we looked at each other, wondering what we should do next. People were staring at Emmett, who didn't give a flying duck; he would sometimes nod to someone to say hello, and he kept his hands on his hips, which made him look like the Jolly Green Giant who had picked out the wrong outfit.

After discussing what to do next, we decided to visit Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, butto take a walk in Sertoma Park first. It was supposed to be beautiful there, but the reason we had all voted for it, well at least Bex, Edward and I, was because walking around with Robin was too much fun to pass up.

Kids stopped to take pictures with him, while various people gave him high-fives, thumbs-up, or asked where Batman was. He'd put a finger on his lips and say, "I can't tell you that." Then when we were far enough away from the person, he'd turn to me and add, "Your secret is safe with me, Bruce." And that would make us laugh once again.

The visit to Fort Abraham Lincoln Park went approximately the same way. Well, since we had to drive there, Robin had the honor of shouting, "To the Batmobile!"

When a guide dressed as a soldier from Custer's army introduced himself, Robin looked at the guide's costume, then his own. "Don't try to impress me with your costume. We all know I'd win in a battle." The guy kept staring at him, speechless. It took him a moment to remember that he had a job to do. During the whole visit, each time our guide would tell us which historical figure had stood where we were standing, Bex would add, "And Robin now, too." By the end we were all saying it with her - except for the guide, who clearly didn't know what to think of us. We stopped at the coffeeshop for lunch before returning to the motel.

During the ride back, Emmett nudged my shoulder so I would turn around and look at him. When I did, he leaned back in his seat, crossed his arms on his chest, then spoke. "Say it."

Edward laughed and glanced at me before staring at the road again. "He's right. Say it, Batman."

"Alright, alright!" I snorted. "You're Robin. I hereby give you back your status."

"Thank you very much."

It was Bex's turn to snort. "You did all that for your Robin status?"

Before he could answer I said, "Hey, I told him he didn't have to!"

"But I did! Ah! And now I'm Robin again, and you can't take it back!"

That did it for Edward. He was laughing his ass off again, desperately trying to keep the car on the road.

Bex looked from Emmett to me a few times. "And people think _I'm_ the crazy one?"

*.*.*

Emmett and Bex had wandered off who knows where, when we got back to the motel. Edward and I were in our room where I was intent on getting dirty, but as it happens we ended up talking money instead. Okay, that was probably because I had put the topic on the table. Being back in the room reminded me about who was paying for what, and I couldn't stop myself from mentioning it.

"You want to make a schedule?" Edward sat on the bed as he spoke, staring at me like I had said the weirdest thing. Or one of the weirdest things. Fine, maybe only a strange thing. What was wrong with schedules, anyway?

"What's wrong with making a schedule?"

"Ah, I don't know Bruce." He passed a hand through his hair. "Do you really think we need to go that far?"

I shrugged, pacing in front of him. "I don't want you to pay for everything."

He looked at me, surprised. "I'm not paying for everything, Jasper. I think it has been pretty even when it comes down to it. I haven't been counting, but off the top of my head, yeah, I'd say we're fine." He lay down on the bed, then asked, "What brought this up?"

"Yesterday when Emmett was talking about not mooching off of us... I wondered if _I_ was mooching off of you." I shrugged again, not knowing what to add.

"You're not, Jasper. We both pay for things. I don't think there's any need for a schedule."

Well, if that was so, then I guess I didn't have to worry about it. Plus knowing Edward, he'd tell me the day he thought I needed to contribute more. I had to say, being with someone so upfront was relaxing. His phone buzzed, and he took it out of his pocket to check it. When he laughed, I sent him a questioning look.

"Emmett is in Bex's room. _Raging Bull_ is about to start and apparently 'he's already scared of her reenacting the movie.' "

We looked at each other and a second later we were out the door, running to Bex's room. When we barged in, Emmett, who was sitting on the bed next to Bex, handed her a five-dollar bill.

"Told you that they'd choose _Raging Bull_ over fucking, Emmett."

"Incredible! You two just made me lose five bucks! Aren't you supposed to be fucking like rabbits?"

I motioned for him to scoot over so I'd have some space to sit against the headboard, too, before answering. "Oh, we will. In about two hours." Edward sat between my legs, his head resting against my shoulder. I put my arms around his chest and kissed him; I put my arms around his chest and kissed him; I enjoyed the fact that he decided to sit there way too much - although he'd probably tell me that there was no such thing as 'too much'.

"I talked to Mitzy earlier," Emmett paused, "well, I talked to Jason, really."

"Jason?" Edward has asked before I could.

"Yeah, Mitzy, she's Jason, err he's Jason." He thought about it for a minute. "I talked to Jason, so I have to say he. Anyway, he gave me the address where we'll meet him tomorrow morning. You know, for the job?"

"Sure." I had no idea whatsoever how to paint a house. With my luck, I'll probably end up covered in paint from head to toe, or I'll fall down the ladder. I suppose there will be ladders. There are ladders in movies where they paint houses, right?

"And don't forget his request, Robin!" Bex was way too cheerful for Emmett's good.

"Request?"

Emmett groaned. "Of course she," he pointed his thumb at Bex, "had to mention the Robin costume, so now Jason wants me wear it tomorrow."

I wriggled my eyebrows, laughing. Edward and I both said "kinky!" at the same time, then high-fived, which made Emmett mumble, "I'm so fucked."

Right then, the first scene of the movie started with Robert De Niro's character getting ready to go onstage.

"So that's Jake La Motta?" Emmett was shushed by Bex, who put a hand on his mouth.

He looked at me, Bex's hand still in place, and I nodded in answer to his question. I was mouthing Jake La Motta's rehearsal speech, and if I was right, so were Edward and Bex. When he was about to utter the last words of his speech, all three of us shouted them at the same time. "That's entertainment!"

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><p><em><strong>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<strong>_


	19. Kinky, Batman

**As always a huge thanks to WendyK and KGQ for their help and patience. Thanks to Lisa Parker and Loopylou. And to Debra who I blame for the "I dare say it" that Edward says in this chap.**

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><p><em><strong>A huge Thanks to YOU, for your awesomeness, for reading Roads, and for sharing your thoughts with me. Thank you again!<strong>_

_**KGQ wrote a wonderful O/s called 20.000 Seconds, I can't say enough good things about! You should really give it go if you haven't read it yet: **_

_** s/ 8146367/1/ 20_000_Seconds  
><strong>_

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><p>Disclaimer: When the going gets kinky, the kinky gets going. Or, er, something like that.<p>

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><p><em><strong>Edward<strong>_

"You do know we're going to be painting a house, don't you, Bruce?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Have you seen what you're wearing?"

He looked at his shirt and pants. "Yes, Alfred. I'm aware of what I'm wearing since I dressed myself."

"So you're aware that they'll probably be ruined by the end of the day, right?"

He looked at me quizzically. "Why would they be?"

I stared at him for a few seconds, wondering if he had ever even held a paintbrush before, and answered him slowly. "Because we're going _to paint _a house."

Bruce took a look at his perfectly clean –and ironed - shirt and pants again. "Darn. You think so?"

"Yeah. " I put on an old t-shirt. "Have you ever painted anything, Bruce?"

"Uhm, no. But it can't be that hard, right?"

"Jasper, it's a house. It won't be that difficult, but it's certainly not easy, either. Anyway, don't you have any clothes you don't care about? Because this is the time to wear them."

He stared at me, baffled. "I care about all my clothes. If I didn't care for them, I wouldn't keep them."

I walked to the closet where he kept his clothes, and looked for something that would fit. "What about that shirt?"

"What about it? I like it. I don't want it to be ruined!"

I shook the shirt. "It has camels on it."

"I happen to like camels! And that shirt, too."

I shook my head. "Uhm yeah, okay." I put the shirt back and took out another one. "What about this one?"

"I like it, too. But what do you have against my camel shirt?"

"I find it rather ugly, and thought it would work for a day of painting."

"My camel shirt is ugly? It's not ugly at all! It's a cool shirt!"

"Well, it's your shirt, so whatever rocks your socks. So what about 'this' shirt?" I said, shaking the one I had in my hand.

He threw his hands up. "I like my shirts, all of my shirts. I don't want to ruin any of them!"

"Fine." I put the shirt back in the closet and went to pick a t-shirt out of my bag. When I turned around, he was changing the way the shirts were hung. I guess he didn't like the way I did that, either.

"Okay, Bruce, wear that then. I don't care about that t-shirt."

He frowned. "But I like this one on you. I don't want it getting ruined, either."

"Bruce, it's a green shirt. There are shirts like that everywhere. If you like it so much I'll buy another one to replace it, but for now, could you please change so we don't make Emmett wait?"

He nodded and took it from me. "What do I do about my pants?"

"You keep them on or you go bare-assed naked. Your choice." I laughed at the face he made.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you?"

"As much as I enjoy your ass, I really don't think I'd enjoy it that much."

He stopped and glanced at me before he continued putting on my shirt. "Yeah, yeah."

Okay. "What was that look for?"

"What look?"

"The one you gave me not thirty seconds ago, Bruce."

He trailed his eyes around the room. "I don't remember any 'look', Alfred."

I sent him a pointed stare, silently conveying that I wasn't an idiot. I hoped he'd speak up, but when he was dressed he only said "Come on. Emmett is probably waiting for us."

I dropped the topic, and followed him outside. Being impatient would only stress him out, plus I trusted him to speak his mind when he was ready. Of all the things I had gotten to know about Jasper, one was that he sometimes needed time to put his thoughts in order. I didn't think it was about overthinking things, although he was obviously prone to that, but it was more about putting things in perspective and trying not to be all over the place when he finally did speak up. He hated that feeling, and although I could decipher quite well what he meant most of the time, Jasper wanted to avoid it as much as he could.

Once at the car he looked around. "Darn, we didn't need to rush; Emmett isn't even here yet."

"I'm here." We turned around to face Emmett, who was holding two coffees. "I guessed you wouldn't have had a chance to have breakfast yet. It's only coffee, but it'll help wake you up."

Bruce looked him up and down. "Where's your costume?"

Emmett rolled his eyes and pushed past Jasper. "We're painting a house. I'm not wearing the damn thing." Then he turned around. "It's a rental. Do you know how much that crap cost me? I don't want to have to buy it because there's paint on it."

Jasper stared at Emmett with a look I knew pretty well by now. Robin had said too much and given Bruce an idea. I'd say 'poor guy', but if it was what I thought, I wanted to see _that_. I guess Emmett realized something was up with Jasper because he asked, "What?" then looked at me and repeated "What?"

"Nothing, Robin. Get in the car. We have a house to paint. However one paints a house."

Once in the car, Emmett said, "Painting a house is sort of the same as painting anything else, Jasper."

"Yeah, that's not helping because I've never painted anything in my life, well, unless you count in Art class in school, but the teachers all told me at one point that I shouldn't be allowed to touch a paintbrush."

I started driving. "Oh, I see you had good teachers who knew how to boost their students' confidence."

He shrugged and put one hand on my upper thigh, where he left it until we arrived. "You haven't seen me with a paintbrush, yet."

I chuckled. I guess I'd see it soon enough. He couldn't be that bad, right? I glanced at him, wondering if he really was, and he gave me a cheeky smile.

We stopped the car as close as we could to the address Jason had given us, and walked to the house. Emmett spotted Bruce's shoes then. "You're going to paint with those shoes on?"

Jasper huffed, "What is it with my shoes now?"

"Don't you think they're too nice to wear for outside work or err, around paint in general?" At the look on Jasper's face, Emmett shrugged. "I'm saying that for you, they're nice shoes but I wouldn't have worn them, that's all."

"Yeah, well they're the least nicest shoes I have, so I didn't have a choice, did I?"

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, he's just trying to help, Bruce. Maybe Jason has some old shoes you can wear while painting."

"Yeah, maybe."

We entered a really well-kept garden with beds of flowers everywhere. There was a very small pond on the far left decorated with fake birds. Garden gnomes were scattered everywhere, and they seriously were the ugliest things I had ever seen. It was rather special, to say the least. Jasper leaned closer to me, "No wonder he wants to re-paint his house. Look at it. What color is it anyway? cotton-candy pink? I-"

Bruce stopped talking when two men came out of the house and walked towards us, the younger one obviously being Jason. He was recognizable even in the blue suit he was wearing today, although it made me feel as if Mitzy might be his twin sister, rather than his female alter-ego. He had short blond hair, and his blue eyes were as piercing as they had been last night. His features were still delicate, but without the make-up and wig his masculinity was strong and undeniable; Jason could be a beautiful woman, but he was a _very_ handsome man. He looked me in the eye for a few seconds, and I was surprised at his intensity.

When he was close enough to us, he twirled, motioning to himself. "Nice change, right?" He shook our hands, and added, "My ass is still perfect, though." He motioned to the older man next to him. "This is my Grandpa, George," he pointed a finger at each of us, "and that's Emmett, Edward and Jasper."

"So you're the guys who volunteered to get dirty for me?"

Emmett groaned, and George sent a surprised look. "You're not very happy to be here it seems."

I piped up, "Oh no, he is, I assure you." And after clearing my throat, I added, "His, ah, mind seems to be in the gutter, though."

Robin's eyes popped out at my words. It's clear he was looking for a come-back, but he didn't get the chance since Jason interrupted him.

"Let me guess. Too much time spent with Bex?"

Bruce and I laughed, nodding. Emmett blushed, and I felt bad for him for all of one second; that's what he got for twisting the old man's words.

"I can't help it! I keep hearing her voice in my head every time there's even a hint of sexual innuendo in something someone says! That woman has traumatized me for life."

George frowned, looking at us one after the other. "Okay folks, I don't get it, so let me show you what needs to be done."

Emmett gave a relieved breath and followed him.

"He's way too easy to fluster. How do you resist doing it all day?" Jason was watching Emmett walk away as he spoke.

"It's hard work, Jason. Real hard work, trust me."

He slapped my back, "I believe you."

We were still chuckling when we joined them. "You'll have to use the paint remover and scrape that side of the house" he pointed to the left. "The rest has already been done so it's ready to paint, but yeah, you'll have to start the prep work over there."

"Shouldn't be a problem, George." Emmett was studying the side of the house, maybe trying to assess how much time it would take us to complete it.

Bruce stepped forward and stood next to the old man. "Yeah, George, we got this. It will be okay."

George glanced at him, then at his clothes and shoes. "You have no clue how to proceed, do you?"

"No idea whatsoever, George."

He stared quizzically at Jasper, obviously wondering what to think of him. I could relate, fuck knows I had given him that look more than once. He stopped staring at Jasper and asked Emmett and I, "What about you two?"

Robin answered first. "I've done it before. It's no problem." I only added a "me, too" which seems to reassure him.

"Alright, I'll show you where everything is in the shed." He looked at Jason. "Why don't you find some shoes to fit your friend while I do that."

Emmett and I laughed at that. In the end he didn't even have to ask. Clearly Jasper decided not to fight it because he followed Jason into the house without a word.

Half an hour later we were at work, minus Jasper who was still in the house. Emmett and I decided to each start at a top corner and work from there. I hadn't been on top of a ladder in a fucking long time and this one wasn't in a good shape. The motion of spreading the paint stripper made it move way too much for my liking. After a little while I got the hang of it, and the only thing difficult to handle was the choking odor of the paint stripper. I guessed the already high temperature, even this early, didn't make it easier on us.

After an hour Jasper finally joined us, bringing some water with him.

"Don't rush too much, dude." Emmett waved his paintbrush at him as he climbed down the ladder. He took a bottle of water out of Jasper's hands and gulped down half of it. "Thanks, though."

"I was talking with Jason. But I'm here now. What do I have to do?"

I drank some water too, before answering him. "You can either help us here or start painting on the front side." I took my shirt off to wipe my face, and threw it on the ground. Since he still hadn't replied, I waved a hand in front of his face.

"What's up with him?"

Ah, the billion dollar question. I looked at Emmett and mouthed "porn" which made him grimace. He shook his head and got back to work.

"Bruce!"

"Yeah?"

"So? Painting, or scraping paint with us?"

"Oh, scraping paint with you, definitely scraping paint with you…"

I chuckled, "Eyes on the wall then. Put some gloves on, don't touch the paint stripper, and don't get your face too close to it, okay?"

"Sure."

"There are only two ladders. Do you want to use mine, or work from the ground?"

He looked at me as if I was crazy. "From the ground! Are you kidding? No way I'll go up there."

I shrugged. I was pretty sure he could do it, but if he felt better working that way I wasn't going to argue. "Okay, then get to work. We're far from finished."

"Hey, I have to go to my office for a while, but I'll be back later with lunch." Jason nodded appreciatively at what we were doing. "Will you be alright until then? Do you need me to bring you back anything?" We all shook our head so he waved at us and left.

I had no idea how long we had worked when I heard Jasper shout a loud 'dang'. It almost made me jump since we had been silent, focused on the job as we were. "Are you okay?"

"Uhm, yeah, but, ah, I spilled the paint thingy."

"Oh shit, Jasper. It's going to kill his grass." Emmett was already down his ladder, assessing the damage.

I joined them and lifted the container. "There's not enough to finish now. My tray is almost empty. I was going to refill it."

"Darn, that's not good."

I looked at him skeptically. I know he was more relaxed now than when we met, but he was still Bruce. Meaning he should be freaking out about wasting someone else's property, or maybe about keeping us from doing our job. I squinted my eyes at him, but he was looking at Emmett with such an apologetic face that I thought I was wrong.

Bruce walked in the direction of the front door. "I'm going to tell George, then I'll go buy some more."

I nodded, still wondering what was up with him.

"Well, I guess we'll take a break then." Emmett finished using the little he had left in his own container and, after taking off his gloves, entered the house, too.

I was going in too, when Jasper got came out. "I'm going to buy a new container of paint stripper." I didn't have time to answer, he was already dragging me by the arm. "You're coming with me."

"I don't have a shirt on, Bruce."

"Oh, don't I know it." He wiggled his eyebrows and started walking backward, both his hands on my chest.

"I'm not going in a store shirtless, Bruce."

He stopped walking, which forced me to stop, too. Then he put one hand on his hip, the other still on my chest. He didn't say anything so I sent him a questioning look. Truthfully, I didn't _need_ to know what he was doing. I was willing to go along whatever was going on in his head, but I was curious, and on top of that I wasn't one to go shirtless everywhere, and even less likely to go into a store. Each time I crossed paths with a shirtless guy there, I'd wonder what the fuck made them think it was a good idea.

I was still staring at Jasper when he spoke up. "Okay, here is how it's going to go down. You're going to get in the car, shirtless, and you're going to drive us to the hardware store. Alright?"

I refrained from chuckling at his stern tone; the fact that it turned me on helped a bit. "Okay."

"Good. And you drive."

"Sir, yes, sir."

Once in the car, he put an address in the GPS and leaned back in his seat, waiting for me to start driving.

"What are y-"

"Drive."

I chuckled and started the car. "So you did that on purpose?"

"Did what?"

Yeah, he looked way too innocent. "Spilling the '_paint thingy_', Bruce."

"Of course I did."

"So you could drag me to a hardware store?"

"Yes, but so I could drag you there, shirtless."

I glanced at him for a second before paying attention to the road again. "Why do I feel there's more?"

"Probably because there is, Alfred." With those words he unbuckled his seatbelt and proceeded to open my pants.

"Hey, I'm driving!"

He paused what he was doing. "Alfred, I want some road head. To be more precise, I want to give you some road head." He stroked my cock –which didn't care if I was driving or not. "See? I want it, you want it, your cock wants it and also-"

But he never finished his sentence, probably never planned on finishing it either; my cock was in his mouth and fuck if I was going to stop him anytime soon. I groaned and gripped the steering wheel, trying to keep my focus on the road and not on what his tongue was doing. Honestly, it was a lost cause, but I managed god knows how, to keep in my lane and follow the GPS directions.

He didn't have much room, but still got two fingers inside my pants to stroke my balls as he sucked on my dick. I remembered then why I wasn't fond of road head. You can't really enjoy it when you're stressed about getting into an accident. I know some people got off on it, but it wasn't on my list of kinks.

I turned into the first dirt road I stumbled upon, and after driving far enough to be hidden from the main road, stopped the car. I leaned back and watched as my cock went in and out of his mouth, until he stopped to say, "You're cheating, Alfred."

He kept jerking me off slowly with one hand, and I took the opportunity to lift myself enough so I could push my pants down as far as I could before answering. "Honestly, I don't care. Keep sucking, Bruce." Which he did with ardor. His little tongue trick never got old, and now that he could stroke and suck on my balls easily, he didn't keep himself from doing it.

I threaded a hand in his hair, but he stopped sucking me. "Hands on the steering wheel, Alfred." He waited for me to oblige before continuing. Shit, how I loved this part of him. The fact that it reminded me of the night we played with all the toys made my cock twitch, and I couldn't stop myself from moaning loudly. That's something that I'd gladly do again as soon as possible.

My breathing became erratic as his motions became faster. I wouldn't have minded it lasting longer but I couldn't have hold off, even if my life depended on it. I came, my hands gripping the steering wheel so hard it hurt. He kept up his ministrations until my cock was totally soft, then he leaned back and bit my neck lightly.

In the next second he was out of the car. He walked around it until he was standing just in front of it, and motioned with his forefinger to get me to join him.

I watched him as his started zipping down his pants, always keeping his eyes on me. No need to say I was out of the car in no time, barely keeping my own pants from falling off completely. He leaned on the car, his pants at his ankles, and took off his shirt. I stepped closer to him, then caressed his mouth with my thumb before trailing my hand down his chest. He pulled me closer to kiss me, his hands kneading my ass while mine snaked around his waist.

Bruce broke the kiss and glanced at his cock, "You'll need to be on your knees for what I have in mind, Alfred."

"Oh yeah?"

"Uh huh."

"And what is it exactly that you have in mind?"

He chuckled. "You know what. I'm sure I don't need to draw you a picture."

I held his face in my hands, "Oh, I know. But you know how I get off on you spelling it out." And by the way his cock twitched, I could tell he got off on it, too.

"Get on your knees and I'll tell you all about it."

Once I was in position he grabbed his dick and pumped it a few times, making sure the tip stayed on my lips. Without a word he fisted my hair and pushed his cock into my mouth, fucking it a few times. He pulled out completely, watching my saliva stick to the head. His mouth was slightly open, his breathing fast and his face slightly red as it always was when he was turned on so much. We hadn't broken eye contact, and looking at him in that state made me want to jump him and fuck him until neither of us had any strength left.

"Fuck, I love watching you suck my cock." He slid it in my mouth again and I closed my lips around it, as he pushed slowly in and out. "I want you to do that where people can watch us." His hand gripped my hair tighter, then he added, "Not a quick blow job, no. A real long one, involving licking balls and fingering."

He pulled out again, staring at me with as much lust as I probably displayed looking back at him. "You're fine with that?" He used a teasing tone, but his face gave away his uncertainty, as if he wasn't sure I'd agree to it. After the conversations we'd already had, I wondered for a second how he could have any doubt I would, but I reminded myself that _knowing_ something being _sure_ of something were two different things.

I nodded slowly, never breaking our gaze. Jasper took my hand so I would replace it on his cock; I wrapped my fingers around it, resuming his pace. He leaned back a little more, his hands flat on the hood of the car behind him. He broke our eye contact and looked around, then his eyes were back on me. "Go on then. I like it when you lick my balls." I did what he wanted as he spoke, trailing my tongue slowly, nipping at them with my lips. He gasped a few times. "Suck on them now, keep jerking me off."

I was so entranced by his body's reaction to my ministrations, the look on his face and the way his words turned me on that I could almost forget about the hard-on I was sporting, I was glad I had never properly put my pants back on, or it would have been really painful.

Bruce was watching me like hawk, following my every motion, moaning from time to time and breathing loudly. He pulled on my hand, the one resting on his hip, and brought my fingers to his mouth the best he could. The motion made him bend forward a little, making it harder to suck on his balls so I licked his cock instead. He sucked two of my fingers, covering them in saliva, then released them with a _pop_.

He gripped my hand, and between gasps, asked me to finger him. I fucked him slowly at first, making sure he was okay since the position was awkward with his pants down as he couldn't open his legs much. Then I did it faster, resuming sucking and licking his balls while jerking his cock. If anyone was around, there was no way they could ignore what was going on with all the moaning and groaning Jasper was doing.

I liked hearing him and seeing him like that. He would utter a fuck from time to time but it was always breathy and low. At one point he said my name a couple of time, trying to say something, but his breathing kept him from continuing. I stopped sucking on his balls to ask what he wanted, but I didn't get the chance. He repeated my name and tried to convey what he wanted without voicing it. Seems like Bruce was making progress, but still wasn't totally there yet. I knew what he wanted, though, so I went with it.

Keeping my eyes on his, I licked his right ball with the tip of my tongue, and fingered him faster. "You're imagining someone is watching us right now, aren't you?" He breathed a 'yes' and closed his eyes. "Look at you acting like a wanton whore." He shivered at my words and his cock twitched in my hand. _So close_. "I know you love that," I licked and nipped at his balls between words, keeping him on the verge of cuming. "Knowing they'll get off on watching you." He gripped my hair with both hands, whispering a string of 'yeses' before his whole body convulsed under his orgasm. That was some seriously hot shit. I was so used to expecting to lose interest after a while, but the more I fucked Jasper, the more I wanted to fuck him. Not for the first time I realized that 'boring' wasn't something that could happen with him.

His laughter brought me out of my thoughts. I smiled at him, wondering what he was laughing about. "I'm sorry. You've got cum all over your hair." He had a fit of laughter again, while he wiped my hair so at least the cum wouldn't be obvious.

"So now I have to go to a store shirtless and with cum in my hair?" I stood up and moved myself flush against him to kiss him, which made my cock rub against both of our stomachs. "And a hard-on, too."

"I could do something about that, you know."

I laughed. "Yeah, and then it will be my turn to do something about yours. You know that there are people waiting for us." Although, there was no way I was going to put my pants back on in this state. I'd have to jerk-off first, but I was pretty sure he wouldn't mind, and I certainly knew how to make myself come fast.

I was about to tell him that when he pushed on his hands and boosted himself up to sit on top of the hood. "Jerk off in front of me, Alfred. I want to watch." _Great minds. "_And you can watch me finger fuck myself. That should satisfy your voyeuristic side and make it even better." He wriggled his eyebrows at me. I'm pretty sure I was gaping at him by then_. Fuck me._ _Jasper might not have been the kinkiest guy I'd ever met, but he was probably the kinky fucker who was best-suited for me._

He leaned back on the hood of my car, a little on his side so he could watch me while having access to his ass, and fucked himself with his middle finger. My cock was in my hand faster than you can say lube, while I used the other to fondle my balls. I had difficulty focusing on one thing. I watched him pleasuring himself and giving me a show. His gaze went back and forth between my face and my cock, and each time our eyes met we'd smile at each other. When we both moaned loudly at the same time, it was followed by our chuckles. We were either on the brink of cumming or laughing, and fuck if it wasn't the best thing ever.

He writhed on top of the car, focusing my attention on his ass and the way his fingers slid in and out of him. Any rational thought left me then, the only things that mattered were him and the hand jerking my cock. I could feel his stare on me, but my eyes didn't leave his hands, one pumping his cock, the other his ass, and that picture was enough to make me cum. I kept stroking myself slowly while looking him in the eyes, then it was his turn to cum –again-. I smiled as he did. Bruce having an orgasm was quite the sight. He lay down sideways, breathless, and after wiping his face with his forearm, he laughed.

I put my pants back on, then walked to where he was and bent down to kiss him. The kiss didn't last long since he never stopped laughing, which made me chuckle even if I had no idea what he was laughing at.

"Well, at least now we have a reason to use the hand wipes. I think it's a great time to use them." He was looking at his hands while he spoke.

I couldn't hold back my laughter. "You bought all those hand wipes in anticipation of us fucking?"

He nodded, then shrugged. "In the car, outside the car, on the car, under the car…"

I picked up a pack of them and cleaned my hands before throwing it in his direction. "Under the car?"

He guffawed. "Who knows with us?"

I shook my head, but couldn't refrain from smiling. "You're crazy."

He got off the hood of the car and zipped up his pants before picking up his t-shirt. "I'm not the one who has to go in a store shirtless, and with cum in my hair, though." He winked at me and got in the car.

It took me a few seconds to join him as I took the time to be, dare say it, a little amazed by Bruce. I couldn't even use the common "who is that and where is my boyfriend" because I had known early on how Jasper could be if he had a little more self-confidence, and fuck if it wasn't happening in front of my eyes.

*.*.*

We finally got back at George's house, way later than we should have, obviously. Emmett was sitting on the porch with Jason. Bruce put the container on the ground and took a seat next to him. He gave a huge smile to both of them, before speaking to Jason. "You're here early. I thought you'd only come back from lunch?"

"I had some impromptu free time." Jason smirked and added, "You two have been gone for a while it seems. What were you doing?"

"No!" We all turned towards Emmett, who was pointing his bottle of beer in Jason's direction. "Never ask them that. Never!"

Jason frowned. "Why?"

"Because they'll tell you, that's why!" Robin looked at me before going on. "Don't you dare tell us. I'm travelling in that car, I don't want to know what happened on those seats."

We all laughed at his words. I shrugged, "Who said it happened in the car?"

Emmett's shoulders slumped in relief but tensed again when Jasper said, "But no one's saying nothing happened in it, either." Then he reached out to grab Emmett's beer and sipped it slowly while watching him shake his head. Oh, yes, Bruce was enjoying torturing Robin.

"Enough of that. I don't want to know!"

"Yeah, but I bet you're imagining it." I took a seat next to Emmett as I spoke, and tapped his shoulder, not caring about the glare he sent me.

"He pictures you two fucking?" Jason couldn't hold back his laugh, "Oh that's good!"

"No, I don't! I don't!"

"Well, yes you do, Robin. You said so." Jasper nodded once, then looked at Jason. "He does."

"I'm not-I didn't say-" He huffed, "It's not_ like_ that." When he saw we were pulling his leg, he stood up. "You know what? I'm going to repair the Heron near the pond like George asked me to so I won't have to hear about what happened in the seat I'll eventually have to sit in."

"Oh come on, Robin! Rooobiiiiin! Come back!" Jasper got out of his seat and started following Emmett, then he turned around. "I'm going to help him repair the _Heron_. Meaning I will do nothing, but tease him. Good times!"

I watched as Emmett picked up the fake bird. He was soon joined by Bruce, who was making all sorts of strange gestures with his arms and legs. Emmett tried to avoid him, but failed miserably. I laughed at their antics, but it died in my throat. I glanced at Jason who had been watching me all the while; he smiled softly before looking away. A few seconds later I could feel his eyes on me again, but I tried to forget him I as I watched Jasper and Emmett.

"It must be lonely."

I stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"Being you." He drank some of his beer. "It must be lonely being you."

"I don't think I understand." What the hell was he getting at?

He watched me, seemingly searching for something, and I couldn't tell if he found it or not, before he pointed at Jasper, "_He_ spends his time worrying over the 'what ifs' - about what could happen in the future. But that's common, everyone does it at one point or the other, right?" I nodded so he went on. "But I've seldom met someone like _you_."

I frowned, surprised. "I still don't understand, Jason." He got out of his chair, telling me to wait there, and came back with a beer that he handed me. "Thanks. Now what the fuck are you talking about?"

"Well, I meet people who worry about things, like Jasper does, all the time. I also know many people who are stuck in the past because they keep thinking 'what if' about something that went wrong. But you? You don't care about those 'what ifs'."

"I don't see the need to be scared about something that hasn't happened yet, and I don't feel like dwelling on things that went wrong, if that's what you're saying."

"Yes, that's partly what I meant."

"Partly?" I put my beer on the table and looked him straight in the eyes. "Can't you get straight to the point?" He chuckled, which lost me a little bit more. I wasn't used to not getting what people meant, and I had to admit I had no idea where this was going.

"I like your directness, Edward. And from what Jasper told me, it's something that's helped him a lot lately."

"Maybe." I knew it was true because he had told me not long ago, but that was between Jasper and I. If he had talked to Jason about it, fine, but then it was between them. We didn't need someone to carry messages for us.

He grinned at me in way that made me wonder if he knew what my thought process was on the matter. "It's a nice defense mechanism. Your honesty, I mean."

"It's not a defense mechanism, Jason. It's the only way I can interact with people."

"Sure, but that adds to the loneliness, doesn't it? So few people are ready to say what they really think." He stared at me, then added, "Most of all, so few people are ready to hear what others really think."

I looked at Jasper again, who was still trying to get a rise out of Emmett. "I know. But I as I said, I can't live any other way. I was forced to for eighteen years, and trust me when I say it couldn't have lasted one more." My family was nice, but communicating wasn't their forte. Fuck knows it had pushed me to say what I thought and made me need to be with people who weren't hiding behind pretense and unsaid things. That was something I couldn't bear anymore. It was stifling and maddening wondering all the time what they could possibly be thinking, to try and decipher what they meant. Most people were like that in one way or another; so I guess he was right in saying it was lonely. "But you're right, being honest does bring some loneliness."

"Oh, I wasn't talking about that when I said it must be lonely being you. I mean, yes, honesty tends to scare people away, but it attracts a lot of people, too. It just doesn't make it easy to get close to someone, but it's not impossible." He nodded his head at Jasper to emphasize his point.

"If you weren't talking about that, what did you mean then?" He made me wait while he sipped his beer.I shook my head and added"You know what? I like Mitzy much better, Jason."

He choked on his beer at my words and wiped his chin after coughing a few times. "That's a good one." He chuckled, then went on, "You know those 'what ifs' I was talking about?"

"Yup"

"As I said I've seldom met someone freaking out the way _you_ do." I stared at him wide-eyed and speechless. "I mean, Jasper is all about things that could go wrong, thinking that obviously he'll be the one fucking up." He paused. "Well, apparently he realized he's thinking less that way, because he trusts you'll speak up if something is bothering you. Then, as I said, some people are all hung up on regrets, always thinking about what went wrong. And then there's you, Edward, who seems to be freaked out about what _could_ _have_ gone wrong." He tapped his fingers on the table. "Am I wrong?"

Was he wrong? If I was being really honest with myself, I knew he was right. I had said so to Jasper, too in a way, when I admitted that knowing that if he had talked to someone else in that bar, I wouldn't be here today and it scared me. That was the scariest shit, even if it made sense only to me. I wasn't sure Jasper had grasped how much it freaked me out.

Jason was right, I didn't have regrets, mainly because I always said and did what I needed to say or do. As for the future, we had a good thing going on, and we were open with each other. So, no, I wasn't worrying about that, either. I looked at Jason and I cleared my throat. "No, you're right."

"I thought so."

"I'm curious to know what made you think that." The obvious answer would be that he was good at reading people, which I didn't doubt for a second. But I still wanted to know more.

"I don't know exactly. I just saw it in you demeanor a couple of times, always just a glimpse mind you. First last night, and then again earlier when you were watching Jasper. At first I thought it was the fear of losing him." He smiled and shrugged. "After all, that's something I see a lot. But then I realized it wasn't that at all."

"How?"

"Because it's clear you two trust each other. It was easy to see you weren't freaking out about that, but I also knew you weren't bothered by the same things that worried other people" Before I could ask him to explain, he said, "Don't ask me how I know, I just do. I've helped a lot of people, both as a lawyer and as a LGBT member. I can read people eerily well." We both laughed at his words. "I'm aware you can, too. Anyway, I still didn't know what was going on with you until a few moments ago, you know, while you were watching Jasper?" I didn't feel the need to say anything so I waited for him to go on. "It became clear to me right then that you weren't freaked out about losing him, but about never having had him to start with."

"And that's what you think 'makes it lonely being me'?"

"Doesn't it?"

I thought about it for a moment. "I don't think so, no."

He shrugged. "As long as you're sure."

"I don't see how it would, Jason. If you think that, then it would be logical you'd think the same of Jasper. Do you think 'it's lonely being him', too?"

"Ah, but you see, Jasper knows he has two sure things in his life." He looked over in Emmett's direction and added, "Well, probably three."

"Which are?"

"_Who _are Bex, Emmett and you."

"And you think I don't have them, too?"

"Oh, you do. You certainly do."

"But?"

"But I'm not sure _you_ know you've got them." He stood up when we heard his grandfather coming our way. He looked at me one last time, and added, "You've got to let go, Edward. There's no '_what if it had happened another way_'. You've got Jasper, and I know you know that, but -" he tapped his knuckles on the wooden table, "you've got to be convinced of it now. You know what I mean?"

I knew exactly what he meant. "Yes."

"Good. I just thought it was worth putting it out there. Oh, and you're wrong, it does make you lonely because this shit always holds you back. Trust me." He walked into the house saying, "And I'll tell Mitzy you like her better than me. She'll be thrilled."

I chuckled at his joke and finished my beer in one gulp. I continued to watch Jasper and Emmett for a while, but my mind was elsewhere, stuck on Jason's words. Fucking hell. It was strange how they could make sense, and not, both at the same time. I guess a discussion with Bruce was in order.

"Why so serious?" Bex's voice startled me. She was the last person I expected to sit beside me. "Edward, you've got cum in your hair."

I noticed her staring at my hair, then spotted the cape in her lap. 

_We'll __never __finish painting this house._

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><p><strong><em>Thank you for reading! Tell me what you think!<em>**


	20. You're a wise man, Batman

**A thousand thank yous to WendyK and KGQ for their help and support. Thanks to KellanCougar (who just updated Learning to Fly, her wonderful E/C story, just saying ;) ), Loopylou and Dariachenowith for their friendship and support.**

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><p><em><strong>Thank YOU so much for reading Roads, for talking about it in such kind words, and for your support.<strong>_

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><p>Disclaimer: Aha! yes, that's the sound of me failing miserably at finding a disclaimer.<p>

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><p><em><strong>Jasper<strong>_

"And then his cock-"

"I'm not listening. I'm not listening!"

Emmett finished repairing the ugly bird and put his hands over his ears. "Stop it!"

"But Robin-"

"There's no but. Just stop it or I swear I'll drown you in that pond." He was trying to stare at me with a stern look but truthfully? It wasn't working really well.

"See? You are listening!" He rolled his eyes, and I stepped closer to him, "Okay, fine. I'll stop."

"Finally!"

"So his tongue was-"

"I can't believe it!"

I laughed. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! So you're finished? It's fixed?"

"Yeah." He bent down to slightly shake the bird, making sure it would stick. "All good." Then he looked at me and said, "Vaaaaagina."

I blinked a few times, staring at him and wondering what was up with him. Uh, what?"

"Vaaaagina"

"Yeah, I heard you the first time, Robin." He studied me, clearly waiting for something, so I sent him a questioning look.

"I thought that might freak you out."

Huh? "You thought the word vagina would freak me out? I don't get it."

"I need to find something to freak you out."

"That's really… friendly, Robin."

"No, I meant to shut you up." He scratched the side of his face. "So 'vagina' doesn't freak you out?"

"The word, no. Of course I don't really want to listen to women talk about theirs, and I have absolutely no need to see one up close. Other than that, I'm fine."

He looked disappointed, which made me laugh again, then he shrugged. "Oh, okay. But I'll find something. Be afraid. Be very afraid."

"Oh yeah, I'm shaking in my boots, Robin." I glanced over to where Edward was sitting. "Now, if you're done, can we go join the others? Bex is here."

"She is?" He swiftly turned. "What is she doing here?"

"You know Bex." I thought it be better not to tell him I had called her. She had planned to come for lunch anyway; I had only sped up her arrival.

Emmett started telling me how we should proceed to finish scraping the side of the house as we walked back to the table, but I stopped listening pretty fast. First of all, it didn't really interest me. I'd do whatever they needed me to do, but I didn't care to know all the _hows_ and _whys_; but it was the look on Edward's face which made me lose my focus on everything else. I wasn't sure I liked that look. The closer we got to them, the more it bothered me.

It wasn't that it was really bad, it was more the fact that I didn't understand it. With all the time I'd spent watching him, I'd come to know him pretty well, and if I couldn't always read everything, I at least got most of it. Sometimes, though, sometimes I would be lost as to what could be going on in his head, but those were fleeting moments for the most part, nothing that would make me question it for too long.

This wasn't the same thing, right now. Bex was talking to him, laughing, but it was clear he was barely listening to her, if at all. He looked worried, or stressed, or maybe lost and Edward was none of those things, or never to that extent. That scared me, but most of all, it was the way he was looking at me, as if he didn't really recognize who I was, that scared me more.

I tried not to stare at him, holding on the knowledge that he would talk to me about it at some point. That's what he'd always told me, and his past actions vouched for him. Yes, he would talk to me. I wasn't sure it was something I wanted to hear, though. But we were good, right? So maybe it wasn't something to dread. I took a deep breath to calm myself. I couldn't always expect the worse, and stress and extrapolate on things without knowing what was going on. Okay. We were good, and something was bothering him right now, but he'd tell me about it as soon as he could.

With that certitude I was able to shake those insecure feelings and felt like things were right again. Well, the fact that something was bothering him wasn't good, though, but I wouldn't like knowing something was bothering Bex or Emmett, either.

Emmett sat not far from Bex, and I took a seat next to Edward. He smiled at me for a second, then went back to his thoughts, but put a hand on my neck and stroked it with his thumb. I leaned closer to him, searching for something to say, but Bex as usual spoke first.

"You wouldn't know why Edward has cum in his hair, would you, boy?"

"As it happens Bex, I do know. Is there something in particular about that you'd like to know?"

"I've pictured every possible position where he could end up with your **sperm **in his hair. I have to say, whichever one it is, I feel proud." Edward was about to speak but Bex cut him off. "Yes, I know Edward, what I just said is 'all kinds of wrong'."

He nodded at her. "But that never keeps you from saying it."

She scoffed. "Of course not. But at least I made you stop brooding for at least five seconds." After sending him a pointed look, she turned to Emmett. "Edward has cum in his hair."

"Good."

We all looked at Emmett, surprised. This was usually the moment he'd try to leave, or at least say something like 'I don't want to hear about it'. Bex, who was disappointed not to have gotten a reaction out of him, asked, "Why good?"

"Because at least it means that maybe the car seats were spared."

She pondered his words for a moment then asked me, "How many times did you do it?"

"Three."

Bex whistled appreciatively. "So there still might be some on the car seats."

Edward groaned, shaking his head, and sent a look in Emmett's direction that was close to an eye roll.

"I really didn't need to know all that, you know? And I think Jasper and Edward could have done without you asking about it, too."

Bex slowly looked from Emmett to Edward. She let out a huff then said, "You two are killing all my fun, and-" She watched as Edward pulled me closer to him until my head was on his shoulder. I kissed his neck and put a hand on his chest. I had no idea what was going on with him, but clearly he needed me close to him; I wasn't going to argue with that. Whatever Bex had planned to say she kept to herself. Instead, she smiled softly at me, and after a glance at the garden said, "That's the ugliest garden I have ever seen."

"Thank you." George's voice startled us, making us all turn around at the same time to see him standing in the doorway, right behind Bex.

"You're welcome, George." Bex faced the garden again, not feeling a bit shameful to have been overheard by him. "Do you really like gnomes that much? What about the fake birds?"

He walked up to the first step leading to his garden. "I find them absolutely awful. Always hated them."

"Why do you have them, then?" I think I asked what everyone must have been thinking.

He turned to look at me. "My wife loved them. I fought with her for years to get rid of them," he shrugged, "but when she died I didn't have the heart to throw them away." He pulled up a chair and sat down. "They remind me of her."

We all stayed silent after that, then of course I had to say, "Well, at least you're changing the paint color of your house. That's something."

"You don't like the color of my house?"

"Uh, no offense George, but it's the worst color I have ever seen."

He kept silent for a few seconds. "Jason! Come here."

Jason, who had been in the house until now, joined us on the porch. "What?"

"What color is my house going to be painted?"

"Uh, same color as it is. Why?"

George gave me a pointed look, then stood up to head into the house. When he was at Jason's level he loudly said, "I'm not sure I like your friends."

"Darn. Of course I'd say that." I hid my face in Edward's neck. He was laughing his ass off. I wanted to tell him to stop laughing since I had annoyed George, but it was good to see him lighten up so I let it go. Instead I got out of my chair to find the man and apologize. I felt bad.

He was in the kitchen, serving himself a drink. He looked up when he heard me. "Have more things to say about my house, young man?"

"Uh, no. I'm sorry for what I said. I wanted you to know that."

"So you don't think it's the worst color anymore?"

"Oh no, I still think it's awful." I cringed at my words.

"That's a wonderful apology-Jasper, is it?"

I nodded, then quickly added, "I'm sorry about that, too." I stroked the back of my neck, trying to find something to say that wouldn't end up sounding insulting. "I, err, I'm just sorry for having said that. I understand that you probably keep it in memory of your wife and-"

"My wife hated that color. I'm the one who likes it."

"Ah." I coughed and cleared my throat. "Uhm, that's err… I think I'm going to, ah," I pointed to the door leading on the porch, "go sit down again, then. But you have to know that I, ah-" He squinted his eyes at me. "Okay, I'm going now. Good chat, George."

I slumped down in my chair, resuming my previous position. I stroked Edward's chest, enjoying the feeling of his skin under my hand, and I played with the hairs that were there. His hand found purchase on my neck again and he asked, "That bad?"

"Worse."

Jason chuckled. "Don't worry, Jasper. It wouldn't have mattered what you said, he'd have turned it around on you. "

I looked at him, not missing the eye-fuck he was giving my boyfriend's chest. "Yeah, he's good at making people uncomfortable."

"Oh yes. I think he likes it." He laughed again, and after one last appreciative look went back into the house.

I snorted, saying that "Maybe we should go back to scraping."

"You sound so enthusiastic, boy!"

I made a face at her. "You're not the one doing it, so shush."

"But I'm counting on watching while I do nothing, boy. Should be fun." She gave me an evil smile then added, "Mostly watching _Robin_ paint." She shook the costume she had in her hand in front of Emmett.

Emmett jumped out of his chair. "How did you-When did you-No way!"

"Yes, way!" Bex walked towards him, costume still in hand.

"Nope, I won't." He turned around. "Now, do what you want, but _I_ am going to work."

We followed him and heard Bex shout, "I'm going to find a way, Robin!"

I had no urge to go back to scraping that darn wall. The only perk was watching Edward work shirtless, but that couldn't erase the pain in my arms, or the nasty odor of the product. It couldn't erase the fact that Edward still looked like he was worrying over something, either. If one of us was talking to him, we had to say his name a few times before he would answer. We worked well, though. Okay, Alfred and Robin worked well. I helped but I was in no rush, so they did most of the work.

When it finally was done, it was time to start painting. Robin decided to start on another wall so the paint wouldn't mix with the product we had just used. Since Edward had decided to disappear right then, I helped Emmett move the ladders, then we went to get the paint from the shed. Emmett grabbed a big can and left to start on the job, while I was still trying to understand what paintbrush or roller I was supposed to use. I grabbed the ones closest to me and picked up a can of paint. When I turned around, Edward was standing in front of me.

"Hey do you know what pai-" I let go of everything when he stepped closer to me and gripped my waist. Next his hands were on my ass and he was pulling me to him, trying to lift me as he went so I wrapped my legs around him. I put an arm around his shoulder, and gripped the support just above my head for balance. He didn't talk as he lowered my head to kiss me, but he didn't need to. I knew that look. It wasn't simple lust, it was need, and while I had no idea why he needed this now, I wasn't going to discuss it; I'd just give it to him.

He moved to get a better handle on me, and it threw me off balance, so I snaked my arms around the support, keeping it in the crook of my arms. The motion moved me higher, and he took advantage of that to put on a condom and open my pants, before pushing them down. He slid his arms under my knees, pulling me back down, and in the same movement made me slowly push on his cock until he was in all the way. I was back to holding onto the support with my hands, and I gripped it tightly as he buried his face in my neck, just under my chin. The height difference caused by my position didn't leave him much choice, though, but he seemed intent on staying there, his mouth never leaving the skin under my Adam's apple.

My pants were strained against his upper torso, the underside of my knees resting on his arms. One of his hands cupped my ass and he started moving, excruciatingly slow at first, but he went faster with each stroke. I tried to stay quiet as best as I could which was rather difficult for me; I wasn't one to be silent, and even less so with Edward.

His sounds were muffled by my skin, although I didn't think he was doing it on purpose. I could feel rather than hear his groan through my skin. Maybe it was a good thing, because the noises he made tended to turn me on even more; he had this way of grunting, really low, usually followed by a moan, that I couldn't resist.

He was keeping me so close to him that he could only fuck me with short strokes, but they were so powerful that we swayed with each one, making it difficult for me to keep holding onto the support but the pleasure I felt was too good to even think about letting go. I felt my cock twitch each time that it rubbed against his chest. I didn't want to cum yet, and as I tried to rein in my orgasm, my ass clamped on his cock, making us both moan. He followed that by biting me, and fuck, it almost made me cum. I bit my lip to stop the string of swear words from leaving my mouth, but as I looked up I saw Jason at the door, watching us open-mouthed and sporting a hard-on I couldn't miss. Holding off became a lost cause. I shouted fuck several times, cumming on Edward –and probably myself- and writhing, even though he was holding onto me tightly as he came, too. When I looked again Jason was gone.

Edward let go of my legs to wrap his arms around me, his face still in my neck. He was as out of breath as I was. I put my legs around his waist; the position was awkward with my pants still down, but I needed some leverage. My arms were killing me and I needed to let go of the support. When I did he stumbled back, then regained his balance, and I put my arms around his head, both my hands buried in his hair.

After a few minutes he let go of me and I slid down his body. Once my feet were on the ground I kissed him before saying his name; the question in my tone was obvious. He looked me in the eye and cleared his throat. "Let's keep that conversation for later if you don't mind. I'm already surprised no one stumbled upon us."

I zipped up my pants and, noticing the state of my shirt, groaned. "I can't wear this anymore. Bex will have a field day."

I took it off and Edward chuckled, then said, "Now you'll have to walk around shirtless, too," at the same time as I said, "You're wrong. Jason was here."

He stopped laughing at once. "What?"

"Jason. He was here." I tried to wipe my cum off his stomach with my shirt. "No idea if he was here for long, though. I only saw him for a few seconds."

Edward snorted. "That fucking perv." His eyes shot up to my face. "How did you like that?"

The question wasn't as simple as it seemed. "Not going to lie, on the spot it was quite, ah, stimulating. But truthfully… I'd rather he had stumbled on us another time."

"Another time, uh?"

I swatted his arm. "You know exactly what I mean." This had been just us, us and his need, wherever it came from. The look he sent me conveyed that he knew it very well, too.

"Yeah, I know." He looked around the shed. "So. Paint!"

Darn house that needed to be painted! I wanted to go back to the motel! Edward picked up the can I had been holding earlier and I followed him outside. He leaned close to me and whispered "Thank fuck it wasn't Bex. She'd probably have cheered us on or given us points for technique." I guffawed at his words, knowing he was probably right. "At least Jason enjoyed it silently." Using a teasing tone he added, "He did enjoy it, right?"

"Oh yeah, based on his body's reaction he did."

"Hey! Lunch is served!" Emmett was in the middle of the garden, pointing a finger towards the table set at the side of the house.

"What the fuck is he doing in his Robin costume?"

I shook my head in answer, wondering what Bex had done to make him to relent. "What did she do, Robin?" We walked over to him, and since he hadn't answered, I asked my question again. He only shrugged.

"Nothing, really. I'm Robin after all."

Edward sent me a look full of doubt. I was with him on that one. There was no way Robin would have worn that costume today unless she'd done something to blackmail him.

We joined them at the table. As we sat down I asked Bex, "So, what did you do?"

She mocked-gasped and clutched her chest. "I did nothing, boy. How can you think such a thing?"

I squinted my eyes at her. "Because I know you?"

"Well, you're wrong, boy."

While we were talking, Jason was looking at us, acting like nothing had happened. I sent him a cheeky smile that made him cough, but he quickly got over it.

They had already started lunch, and while neither of them commented on that, Bex spoke up anyway. "We sent Jason to look for you but he didn't find you." He scrutinized us both, then asked, "Where were you?"

Emmett put his fork down. "No! No! What did I say? You don't ask them what they were doing! You don't ask them where they were!"

"What are you talking about? You never said that. And since when can't I ask?"

"Oh, yeah. You weren't there, true." Robin paused and turned to her, "You don't ask where they were and what they were doing or else they might _answer_!"

"Well, see Robin… Alfred and I were naked and rolling around in-" I didn't finish because Emmett was staring at my hair, eyes wide as saucers, with a panicked look on his face. Oh no-no-no-no- Duck-no-NO! I froze, my heart beating so fast I thought it would stop, like each darn time. The next second I was out of my chair, head down, rubbing my hair with both hands, shouting at Edward to tell me if I had something in it.

I barely registered the shocked look on his face as he jumped out of his seat to tell me that there was nothing in my hair, and to calm down. How could I calm down! Oh dang, I couldn't believe it! I stopped touching my hair and stared at Bex; she kept looking at everything but me. "So that's what you did? I can't believe it! You-you-Benedict Arnold!"

"Aha! I got you! That info was so worth wearing this stupid costume. Excellent!" Emmett smiled brightly at me and started eating again.

I huffed and sat down again, passing a hand through my hair –just in case.

"Ok, will someone tell me what the fuck that was all about?" Edward was still standing, slightly pissed off. "You scared the fuck out of me with your screaming and jumping everywhere!"

"I wasn't jumping everywhere."

"Of course you were!" Then he looked at Bex and pointed a finger at her. "What was that?"

She tried to hold a chuckle in. "Uhm, my boy has this thing, you see." I huffed, closing my eyes at the humiliation that was about to come. "If you stare at his hair like there's something awful in it, he, well, he starts doing that."

I opened my eyes when Edward asked, "Something awful like what? What do you mean?" Then he looked at me. "Bruce?"

My groan was loud enough for everyone to hear, but they were all waiting for me to speak up so no one commented on it. "Like err, live things you know?"

Alfred was watching me, confused. "Live things?"

"Spiders! Like spiders! I can't believe she told him!"

He was still confused. "But if you know he's doing it on purpose it shouldn't really matter."

I threw my arms up. "It does! As much as I know it's not true, I can't fight it! I'll always picture them in my hair and it's disgusting. Argh." I passed a hand through my hair again, in reflex.

Emmett was laughing his ass off. "I won't abuse my power, don't worry." He put another piece of food in his mouth. "I'll only do it if you start giving me details of your sex life just to bug me." He chewed, then added, "So worth wearing this stupid costume!"

*.*.*

The rest of the afternoon was a bore for the most part; at least when it came to me. I hated painting, I really did. And that darn house wasn't close to be finished so I knew we'd have to go back tomorrow. I had traces of paint everywhere on me. I was glad I was wearing Jason's shoes and not my own; it would have ticked me off to ruin them for this.

Like this morning, the only perk was watching Alfred work shirtless; the reason my shoes were covered in ugly pink paint was because I'd often forget to work, too entranced by the way his back muscles rolled each time he extended his arm to paint, and my roller would drip all over Jason's shoes.

I loved watching him overall, because, well, I always loved watching him. The way his face looked when he was working, and his entire casual demeanor -as if he was doing the simplest thing and wasn't balanced on a ladder, sweating like a pig- and how he shook his head or smiled each time our eyes met.

All the while, Robin was trying to ignore Bex's taunting. She was sitting in a lawn chair, sipping on her drink and watching us work. Watching _him_ work to be more precise. The fact that I had to stop teasing him made her do it with even more vigor. I couldn't keep from laughing each time he threw his cape over his back; the gesture was so ridiculous. He ended up with getting more paint on it every time he did it. At one point he looked at his costume and shouted, "I'm warning you, I'm not paying for it if they don't take it back at the shop!" I laughed at that knowing full well that the costume was already paid for. After all, I was the one who had asked Bex to buy it. Thinking about how he came to wear it today, I guessed she thought that if I was ready to see her tease him then I should be ready to have a taste of my own medicine. I couldn't fault her on that.

Jason had left hours ago for work. He stayed a bit after lunch, though, until we started working on the house again. He was clearly not eye-fucking only Alfred this time; I got my fair share of it, too. I ignored it for the most part, but sometimes our eyes would meet and I'd always send him a teasing smile that made him look away in a hurry. Edward chuckled each time it happened, mouthing 'tease' to me and once telling Jason that "he shouldn't watch if he couldn't handle it."

At ducking last we called it a day. I wanted time alone with Alfred; he seemed better than earlier, but he still wasn't himself and I _needed_ to know what was going on with him. Before we left, I asked Bex if she had anything she needed to take back to the hotel.

"I'm not going back to the motel yet, boy."

"You're staying here with George?"

"I think he's hiding, but no, I'm waiting for Jason to come back. We thought we could make a night of it. You don't want to join us?"

It sounded nice, but it wasn't the best timing. I glanced at Edward to be sure he was on the same page as me, which he was, so I shook my head in answer. "We're going back to the motel." I turned to Emmett, who was putting the ladders back in the shed. "What about you, Robin?"

He stopped in his tracks. "No way I'm sitting in that car, right now." Then more seriously he added, "I'll finish cleaning up. You can go. Jason will give me a ride back later."

"You're not going out with us?"

Emmett stared at Bex as if she was crazy. "With you and Jason? Do you think I'm that masochistic? No thanks, Bex. Plus, after today all I want is to chill out and get some rest."

It took only a moment to retrieve our stuff, then Edward and I headed to the car. He handed me his keys. "Do you mind driving?" I took them without a word and drove us to the motel. He stayed quiet the whole ride there, looking out his window; only the hand he kept on the back of my neck, rubbing it slowly, told me that he hadn't forgotten I was there.

Once we were in the room, but before I could say anything, he asked, "I know you're anxious for us to talk but is it okay if I take a shower first?"

We were both sticky with sweat, paint and other fluids. A shower didn't seem like the worst thing right now. "Yeah, dang knows I could use one, too."

Edward nodded. "You've got paint in your hair." He brushed it with his fingers trying to remove it. "Okay, shower first then."

It was a rather quick affair; we took our shower together, but only took care of ourselves. The goal was to be clean, not to get frisky**. **Obviously, neither of us would have minded that, but I really wanted to hear what he had to say and for once the need to talk was prominent enough in my mind that nothing else could make me forget it, not even Naked Alfred.

I got out of the bathroom first and of course wondered if I should keep the towel around my hips, or put on underwear, or just go naked as I normally would. I decided to keep the towel on since I didn't like underwear that much. If I was lying naked on the bed, waiting for Alfred, the only thing we'd be acknowledging would be the huge hard-on I'd be sporting because my brain and body were in accord when it came to seeing Edward naked and still wet. He came out of the bathroom just as I was thinking that, half-wet and in all his naked glory, as I knew he would be. He wasn't the kind of guy to hide himself, even less when it came to me. I didn't think I'd ever seen him wearing underwear, unless he planned on putting on somepants in the following three seconds.

He slumped on the bed and crawled over to me until his head was on my upper chest, one leg draped over mine. I noticed he had taken almost the same position as he had the day we'd had that "_not yet_" talk. I played with his hair, waiting for him to talk; that was something he did often for me. Waiting for me to talk, I mean. It stressed me out a bit, though, maybe because I wasn't used to waiting for him to speak up, or maybe because I was dreading that talk more than I realized, I didn't know. He felt it, because his first words were,

"Your heart is beating like crazy, Bruce." He lifted his head to look at me, and after a quick kiss, resumed his position. "I had an interesting conversation with Jason today."

Ah, so that was it. "Did he hit on you?" Well, Jason was hot, and he had eye-fucked my boyfriend most of the day, so it wasn't that far-fetched to wonder about it. I think? Maybe not. That wouldn't have upset or worried Edward that much.

He chuckled, jolting us both slightly. "No, Bruce. He did not hit on me. I don't think he would ever do that. He's rooting for us too much." He paused. "We talked about me, though, and to some extent, about you and me."

"Yeah?" What did Jason have to say about us? Or Edward? Huh?

"Yes. " He turned around, keeping his head on my chest, but now facing the ceiling. "You see, I do this thing –and really I didn't think it mattered much- but after talking with Jason I've been wondering how much it _does _matter."

Okay. That wasn't clear. Edward was always clear. Actually, I suspected _Clear_ was his middle name. But that right there wasn't making any sense. Dang, he sounded like me; seriously I didn't give him enough credit because I never realized how frustrating it was. "That thing about the thing? Uhm yeah, that thing is err, what?"

He snorted. "That thing is me being all hung up about how everything could have gone wrong. I don't know, it's hard to explain… but Jason seems to think it keeps me from truly enjoying what I have."

Yeah, not getting it. "What thing could have gone wrong?"

Edward rubbed his forehead and passed a hand through his hair. "Like you, for example."

"I could have gone wrong?" I have a strange brain, but that did not, ah, make any ducking sense!

"No." He turned his head so he could see my face. "Remember what I told you about freaking out knowing that if you had talked to another guy in the bar we wouldn't be here today?" I nodded, remembering that conversation well. "Well, that's exactly that."

"What's exactly that?"

"Me _maybe_ not being in it totally because of it? Or fuck, I don't know, maybe not being sure I have you because fuck knows I can see what my life would be like if I hadn't met you, and I can see it every damn day." He scrunched up his face. "Okay, that sounded weird, but do you know what I mean?"

"Yes. After all, anyone can see I'm too good to be true." He guffawed at my words, and I squeezed his shoulder, "No, I don't get it, Alfred!" I didn't want to act as if it was stupid, because if it wasn't stupid to him then it wasn't stupid, period. But I really needed him to explain it to me. "Tell me again about this 'could go wrong' thing?"

"Okay." He thought about it for a few seconds. "You know how you're always freaking out about what could go wrong, and how you imagine all the possible outcomes, good and bad?"

"Yes." For now, I got it. I nodded to emphasize my answer.

"Well, in a way I do the same but for things that have happened already, except it's always bad, and it's always about things that went well or ah, had an okay outcome."

"Like us in the bar," Remembering something I had said before, I added, "and like when I told you it was like escaping a road accident and getting the chills each time you thought about how close you came to getting killed?"

"Yes! Exactly." He shrugged. "I don't know, I never felt like it held me back or anything. But Jason had pointed out some other things that I knew to be true. I couldn't ignore the rest just because I had never thought about it that way before, you know?"

Hmmm. "So you're thinking about everything that could have gone wrong and it _might_ be keeping you stuck on the 'what ifs?' " I thought maybe I was starting to make sense of it. But I wasn't really sure. Who knew Edward had this kind of things going on in his head?

"Yeah. It sounds crazy, right? It sounds mad to me, but what do I know?"

"That's why you seemed somewhere else all morning?"

"Yes. Honestly Jasper, it scared me."

Huh? "Why?"

"Because in a way I've been living on the sidelines all my life, by choice mind you, but I thought that wasn't the case anymore. One conversation with Jason made me wonder if I wasn't still doing it. And if that's the case, it's not by choice anymore. That's frightening in itself."

I could understand that. Although I didn't think it was exactly true. "And the shed?"

"I needed to, ah, really feel you."

I wriggled my eyebrows. "Oooh yeeeaaah, you felt me good." I ran my hands over his chest. I didn't know if it was soothing to him, but it did the trick for me.

After his laughter died down he caught one of my hands in his. "I needed to feel you close. To know you were real." He shrugged again. "Ah shit, I don't know." Well, that was nice. Being needed was always a great feeling, not that I had felt it many times in my life. He interrupted my thoughts by adding, "All I know is that I needed to tell you, to make sense of it. Or to try at least."

"Okay. So, this is the moment I tell you what I think, right?"

Edward turned on his front again, resuming the position he had taken when he first joined me on the bed. "Yes, I believe it is, Bruce."

Nickname. It meant he felt better. _Way to go, Jasper!_ I rubbed his shoulder with one hand, and his hair with the other, waiting for _that_ sigh. It came after a few seconds; how I loved that sigh. He didn't do it often, but each time it rocked my world. In my mind it was like a neon sign spelling out 'getting closer to _yet_' without him even noticing. I savored it for a moment, then spoke up. "As you told me once, everyone is scared of something. I don't doubt that for you it's this weird version of Leibniz's theory but-"

His head snapped up and he cut me off. "Leibniz's theory?"

"Yeah, you know, everything is related in time? Like me talking to someone else in that bar would have kept us from meeting. But then if you think that way, you have to go back further. For example, if my last appointment had lasted longer maybe you'd have been gone by the time I got there. Or, err, if said appointment had happened elsewhere, then I wouldn't have gone to that bar at all. Oh and what about the fact that if my parents hadn't been such screw-ups, they wouldn't have forced me to study law, then I wouldn't have had to go to all those appointments that day, hence we'd have never met." I paused. Wow_. I met Edward because my parents were screw__-__ups._ Maybe I should send them flowers instead of being angry at them. I must have been silent for quite a while because Edward's voice started me out of my thoughts.

"What's up?"

"Nothing. Anyway, that's Leibniz's theory, uhm sort of." Dang. I met Edward because my par-

"Bruce?"

"Yes! Okay, as I was saying, that's something that bugs you, but I'm not sure the rest is related to it. Keep in mind that I have no idea what I'm talking about, as usual."

He lifted his head and slapped my shoulder. "Stop belittling yourself, Bruce. If I'm talking about it with you, it's not only because you have the right to know what's going on with me, it's also because your opinion is important as well as helpful. Now speak."

"See that right there? You, repeating that I have to speak up, and that my opinion matters?" He nodded. "Well, I think that's what you need. Well, I mean, you need the idea drilled into you that I'm right here and not living in sin with Ugly Sweater Guy." He chuckled but I went on. "You think it's stupid, but I bet you that it's not." As I tried to find a way to make it clear to him, it became clear to me, too. I could be wrong, but it did make sense to me.

"If you think about it, you had a job you felt wasn't really your job because you always thought of it as temporary, and you lived in an empty place because you also felt it was temporary. You never really made friends because all aspects of your life were _temporary_. There's not one thing in your life that wasn't darn temporary. And it's been like that for years, if not since you were a kid. I mean, you have parents who are loving but absent on too many levels to count. No offense to them, but they were and still are only intermittent parents. I'm not Freud, but I do think it's a lot to ask of yourself not to bring that 'temporary' crap into the life you're living right now and to us by association. So I do think that drilling it into your brain can work." It was my turn to shrug. "It's working for me, Alfred."

He scrutinized me for a few seconds, "Yeah, it does work for you."

"Yes. I'm getting more perfect by the minute."

"You laugh, but I don't think you get how hot you are when you act so sure of yourself."

"Ooh, you mean it turns you on?"

"As if you didn't know that already, Bruce." He tickled me as spoke, making me thrash on the bed, and incapable of answering him since I was laughing too much. He finally stopped and laid his head on my right shoulder, nestling his face in my neck. He ran his hand up my chest, until it reached my left shoulder and wrapped his fingers around it. His other hand found purchase around my right biceps, tightening on it each time I stopped scratching his hair, and one of his legs was still draped over mine.

"Yeah, I know you do, Alfred."

"You know, what you said make sense, about everything in my life being temporary until now."

"I'm amazingly intelligent, as you know." I rubbed his arm and added, "In all truth, I had never thought about it like that. It's when you were explaining things that it came to me. I might still be wrong, but I feel like I'm not. You'll have to work on your weird Leibniz Syndrome, though." I chuckled at my own words, and he bit my neck. Maybe he needed a little romance and attention, too. I was ready to bet it wasn't something he had been drown in until now. Not that he was the sort of guy to love huge romantic gestures; he had been pretty clear about that from the start. The fact that he preferred small, meaningful gestures throughout the year rather than big ones on a few special occasions made sense, too.

His stomach growled, reminding us that we had yet to have dinner. I really have no drive to go out; all I wanted was to stay here with him half on top of me-even if my shoulder was slowly dying- and cuddle him the rest of the night.

Edward held me tighter. "I don't want to move. Is it okay with you if we stay here?"

Seems like we were on the same page, then. I kissed the side of his face, "Completely. We can order something later."

I felt him nod slowly, and nudge my arm so I'd resume scratching his hair. "Mmm, feels good."

_And there was _that_ sigh again._

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